


by the river's edge

by findmyownbravado



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-04 14:31:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14595075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/findmyownbravado/pseuds/findmyownbravado
Summary: two differing clans that had diverged from skyclan live on opposing sides of the river, one on the moor and one in the forest. they've never gotten along to work together but as a disaster strikes and a prophecy is born, they have no choice. what will become of sunclan and moonclan?





	1. Chapter 1

**prologue allegiances**

☼ ** _; sunclan  
_**

 **leader :** fernstar - speckled gray she-cat with fern green eyes and a silver muzzle (daughter of tansybee)  
 **deputy :** slatefur - dark gray tom-cat  
 **medicine cat :** stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot  
 _apprentice_ : russetpaw - light red she-cat (sister of flamepaw)  
 **warriors** :  
ryefoot - light brown she-cat  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
thorncreek - tabby tom-cat  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
talonwhisker - muscular black tom-cat with unusually long claws (son of shadebriar)  
 **apprentices** :  
flamepaw - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetpaw)  
 **queens** :  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat (mother of thorncreek's kits)  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (expecting talonwhisker's kits)  
 **kits** :  
sagekit -long haired white tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
sunnykit - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezekit -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
juniperkit - small dark tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
 **elders** :  
tansybee - very old long haired gray she-cat (mother of fernstar)  
shadebriar - black she-cat (mother of talonwhisker)

☾ **_; moonclan_**

 **leader** : willowstar - lithe dark brown she-cat  
 **deputy** : dovewhisker - light gray tom-cat  
 **medicine cat** : rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat  
 _apprentice_ : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
 **warriors** :  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches  
twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
sunhare - golden she-cat  
 **apprentices** :  
 **queens** :  
silverclouds - silvery she-cat (expecting hawkice's kits)  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat (adoptive mother of sedgekit and shrewkit)  
 **kits** :  
shrewkit - black she-cat (sister of sedgekit)  
sedgekit - dark gray she-cat (sister of shrewkit)  
 **elders** :  
thrushfang - light brown tom-cat  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat

 

**prologue body**

"come along then, fawnpaw!" rubblefang's purr echoed throughout the cavern. a small trickle of water spewed from a crack in the rock. it was sacred here, this was where starclan gave the medicine cats messages for their clans. the cats from sunclan were here too, stumpyfoot with his new apprentice, russetpaw.  _ a rogue kit, just like how bubblingwater adopted the other kits, _ the medicine cat apprentice thought to herself. the kits were still very young and bubblingwater took care of them, seeing how she was unable to bear her own kits.  _ she can produce milk but she can't produce kits? _ it was a phenomenon fawnpaw had yet to understand.

stumpyfoot seemed to be in good mood, as was his apprentice. she was still young, barely 8 moons. she was always in a good mood. her mentor cleared his throat. "alright rubblefang. we are still. continue with your ceremony." his whiskers twitched mischievously as fawnpaw blushed.  _ a ceremony? already? i don't think i'm ready! _

rubblefang's whiskers twitched as he looked at his apprentice. fawnpaw could remember the day she first came to the starspring to be made an apprentice. it was comforting to meet with her warrior ancestors from the past and some from not so long ago, they had been alive in her lifetime. "i, rubblefang, medicine cat of moonclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. she has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her clan for many moons." his eyes shimmered with pride. "fawnpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between clan and clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"i-i do." fawnpaw stumbled on her words nervously.

"then by the powers of starclan i give you your true name as a medicine cat. fawnpaw, from this moment you will be known as fawnwhisper. starclan honors you and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of moonclan." rubblefang said, resting his chin on her head. fawnwhisper relished in this. "drink from the starspring and let starclan celebrate with you." he smiled.

fawnwhisper licked the cool water from the spring and laid in front of it as she felt the icy water travel down into her stomach. she closed her eyes and was finally dreaming.

the medicine cat opened her eyes to see a crowd of cats, she did not recognize a single one. they all cheered for her. "fawnwhisper!" they purred. "we're so proud of you!"

suddenly the moorland underneath her began to crumble into rough dust. the crowd of cats mumbled in fear until they began to fall through the ground and fawnwhisper was stuck on a small spot of the moor that was left, everyone had been eaten by the earth from which they came. "help me!" the young tabby yowled, her heart beat in her ears and her chest was tight with fear.

a deep rumbling meow sounded from the sky. fawnwhisper looked up and analyzed the stars. it was always a clear night in starclan where you could count the stars. the cat meowing began to speak clearer. " _ scorching hot sun comes to kill, lives will continue to go downhill, _ " fawnwhisper saw the cats of her clan trying to drink from the river and the light tabby felt the hot sun on her pelt.

" _ sun and moon must work together to escape safely from this fatal weather, _ " she watched as the cats of both clans quarreled over the empty riverbed. " _ three kits born from each will join together to help teach, _ " she saw the outlines of two queens and three kits nestled near both.

" _ you must travel to the original four where they may not or may accept you with an open door, _ " fawnwhisper remembered the stories the elders told the kits about the story of skyclan, the original clan that lived with the other clans before they were exiled, thunderclan, riverclan, shadowclan, and windclan. " _ go slowly not, or perhaps those among you may not get what you sought. _ " the prophecy finished.

fawnwhisper felt the ground beneath her shake and rumble as it turned to dust and she plummeted into the jaws of the earth.

she woke up with a stir.

__"scorching hot sun comes to kill,  
lives will continue to go downhill.  
sun and moon must work together  
to escape safely from this fatal weather;  
three kits born from each  
will join together to help teach  
traveling to the original four  
where they may not or may accept you with an open door  
go slowly not,  
or perhaps those among you may not get what you sought."


	2. one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> two differing clans that had diverged from skyclan live on opposing sides of the river, one on the moor and one in the forest. they've never gotten along to work together but as a disaster strikes and a prophecy is born, they have no choice. what will become of sunclan and moonclan?

**allegiances i**

**☼ _; sunclan  
_ leader :** fernstar - speckled gray she-cat with fern green eyes and a silver muzzle (daughter of tansybee)  
**deputy :** slatefur - dark gray tom-cat  
**medicine cat :** stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot  
_apprentice_ : russetpaw - light red she-cat (sister of flamepaw)  
**warriors** :  
ryefoot - light brown she-cat  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
thorncreek - tabby tom-cat  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
talonwhisker - muscular black tom-cat with unusually long claws (son of shadebriar)  
**apprentices** :  
flamepaw - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetpaw)  
**queens** :  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat (mother of thorncreek's kits)  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (expecting talonwhisker's kits)  
**kits** :  
sagekit -long haired white tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
sunnykit - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezekit -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
juniperkit - small dark tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
**elders** :  
tansybee - very old long haired gray she-cat (mother of fernstar)  
shadebriar - black she-cat (mother of talonwhisker)

****☾ _; moonclan_  
**leader** : willowstar - lithe dark brown she-cat  
**deputy** : dovewhisker - light gray tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
**warriors** :  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches  
twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
sunhare - golden she-cat  
**apprentices** :  
**queens** :  
silverclouds - silvery she-cat (expecting hawkice's kits)  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat (adoptive mother of sedgekit and shrewkit)  
**kits** :  
shrewkit - black she-cat (sister of sedgekit)  
sedgekit - dark gray she-cat (sister of shrewkit)  
**elders** :  
thrushfang - light brown tom-cat  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat   
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat

**chapter i**

☾

fawnwhisper came back to the camp and half a moon later her mentor had retired to the elder’s den. she hadn’t realized how old and frail he had become, but he joined snailtail and thrushfang in the elder’s den anyway. his muzzle was gray with age and his legs were slender and bony.

sedgekit and shrewkit played in the medicine den and she constantly had to supervise them. bubblingwater never seemed to be interested in them anymore. _maybe it’s better for her,_ the medicine cat thought to herself as the kits wrestled around and chased each other in the clearing. _since she knows she’ll never have her own kits._

“fawnwhisper, help!” sedgekit scampered to her as she sorted herbs. “silverclouds is crying and she told me to come get you-” she was interrupted as a caterwaul was heard throughout the camp which sent birds flying away in the trees.

the tabby grabbed a stick and some poppy seeds and rushed to the nursery. the she-cat was panting as her body was rocked by contractions. fawnwhisper was right, her kits were coming.

“bite down on this.” fawnwhisper commanded her. the queen bit down and still moaned as her kits were born. “two kits, one tom-cat and she-kit.” the medicine cat purred but was alarmed at the blood spilling from her. silverclouds was panicked.

fawnwhisper noticed shrewkit and sedgekit watching her closely. “go get moss. now.” she snapped and the kits scampered away and came back with moss. fawnwhisper pushed the moss into where the blood was coming from, but it didn’t stop.

she sighed, not understanding what she did wrong. fawnwhisper dashed to the medicine den and brought back poppy seeds. silverclouds ate them and fell asleep while her kits suckled her teat. fawnwhisper watched as the breath of their mother died as she joined starclan.

“it’s alright. we all lose some eventually.” rubblefang’s meow was heard from behind her. “now, go get some borage. you have to nurse them and raise them.” the elder said wisely.

fawnwhisper left and quickly ate some borage, then she took the queen and prepared the body for burial. hawkice came back from a patrol and was broken when he saw his mate dead. not even his kits could soothe his pain. they were both so young. as fawnwhisper took care of all four of the kits in the nursery, hawkice never stayed in the camp. she noticed he never slept in the warrior’s den and instead in the forest. fawnwhisper had her paws full with the four kits.

“violetkit, stonekit, get back here.” fawnwhisper purred as the two youngest kits wrestled in the clearing, knocking the prey around in the clearing. the pale sunlight from the dusky sky shone through the leaves of the trees and left different shadows on the ground. sedgekit and shrewkit laid in the sun with each other, sharing tongues. _they're almost ready to be apprenticed,_ fawnwhisper thought with a sigh. _i should tell willowstar when she gets back from patrolling._

fawnwhisper had never told anyone about her dream or the prophecy. willowstar intimidated her and rubblefang seemed distanced from her. the medicine cat sighed and laid in front of her den as the patrol came back. willowstar set a small sparrow on the pile, her whiskers twitching as violetkit and stonekit straightened out in respect for their leader. hawkice followed his leader and glared at the two kits. violetkit seemed frightened and scampered closer to fawnwhisper with her tiny kit legs.

"why is hawkice so mad at me?" she mewed, her ears flat as she pressed herself close to fawnwhisper.

"he just misses your mother, dearest." fawnwhisper purred, nuzzling and grooming the kit.

hawkice watched as stonekit followed, his lips locked in a snarl. the warrior turned and walked out of the camp again. fawnwhisper followed him as he padded through the forest to the tree he slept in. fawnwhisper's paw stepped on a stick and the crack echoed through the trees. hawkice turned and sniffed the air and caught fawnwhisper's eye. "go away!" he hissed, frowning.

"i'm worried for you," fawnwhisper mewed, standing up straight. "you don't show any affection to your kits and they need you right now. they're confused and they need their father."

she stepped closer but hawkice's neck fur fluffed up. "they don't need me. i can't even look at them without thinking of silverclouds. i can't look at you without remembering how you _killed_ her." he snarled.

"cats lose mates all the time. it was going to-"

"you'll never understand! you've never been in love!" hawkice snarled. "she's never coming back! she's dead!"

_silverclouds was the first but she definitely won't be the last,_ fawnwhisper thought darkly but she kept her mouth shut.

☼

"kits, come back here!" a mew was heard from behind sunnykit. she continued running around with her littermates contrary to what her mother said. all four scampered to flamepaw, the only warrior apprentice. his sister had decided to take the path of a medicine cat, which was no big problem to anyone.

"flamepaw," sunnykit's brother, sneezekit, started to ask. "can you take us to the river? we're tired of being cooped up here. we want a little look." he whined.

flamepaw snorted. "only one more moon until you're apprentices." his whiskers twitched as the kits frowned.

"please!" juniperkit pleaded. she kneaded the ground.

the apprentice sighed. "alright," he mewed. "follow me." the kits snuck out with the apprentice and walked through the trees, tripping over the roots and undergrowth but sticking close to the dark red tom. there was the soft sound of rushing water. flamepaw opened his mouth and tasted the air, the kits tried to as well but failed because they didn't know how. he continued through and at the edge of the forest was an opening and the river.

juniperkit squealed and raced over, the other kits followed her. sunnykit peered into the lake at the fish and the rushing water. a yowl was heard on the other side and two apprentices showed up. the black she-cat snarled and the dark gray she-cat seemed to have a blank expression as she made eye contact with sunnykit. sunnykit felt her heart race and her stomach felt full of butterflies. she wanted to press herself to the apprentice's side.

"so, flamepaw, any explanation on why you brought kits out on our territory?" the black she-cat hissed. "they still smell of their mother's milk."

the gray she-cat rested her tail on her sister's shoulders. "shrewpaw, there's no need to be upset. they're just kits." she mewed, her eyes on the four little bodies.

shrewpaw's neck fur raised and she yowled a battle cry as she pounced on flamepaw, leaping over the river with one mighty leap. sunnykit felt afraid and she felt her sister's scream in her ears as the small she-kit fell into the river. the other apprentice looked shocked and ran down the rover. "we have to catch her, she's going to float down to the twolegplace!" she cried, her powerful limbs pounding down the river as juniperkit's head bobbed in and out of the water.

sunnykit followed and tried to help her save her sister but she couldn't save her without jumping in.

the kits and apprentice ran until they saw a giant gray twoleg structure. "i'm so sorry, kits," the apprentice said from the other side. "let's bring you back to flamepaw," she jumped into the water and swam across, she was stronger than juniperkit was. "i'm sedgepaw, what are your names?"

sunnykit was stunned by the older she-cat and suddenly couldn't speak. "i'm sneezekit, this is sagekit, and this is sunnykit." sneezekit mewed. sedgepaw's eyes rested on sunnykit. _sedgepaw,_ sunnykit thought. _what a wonderful name,_ sunnykit sneakily drank her scent as they walked back. sunnykit knew juniperkit would go to starclan, it's where all the kits went. when they showed up again there were warriors at the scene now.

"oh, my kits!" specklebush cried, nuzzling the three of them. "where's juniperkit?"

sunnykit's eyes hollowed. "she-uh, got swept away by the river.." sunnykit mewed awkwardly. the queen let out a caterwaul of mourning at the thought. thorncreek, their father, nuzzled her affectionately in attempt to comfort her.

"i think i should go back with shrewpaw," sedgepaw said. "i'll see you at a gathering, probably." sunnykit watched the lithe she-cat walk onto the water and back onto the moor. the warriors lead them back to camp where a meeting was held about flamepaw.

warriors were upset. "we shouldn't have taken in those rogue kits. they're not loyal," skytail snarled, his mate, wrendawn, frowned, not wanting to get into the argument. sunnykit saw his eyes point towards flamepaw and russetpaw. "i say we exile them right now." some cats yowled in agreement.

"they're only kits still," stumpyfoot, russetpaw's mentor, snarled. "you of all cats should understand, seeing how you were there for wrendawn's birth." some cats _ooo_ ed as the sharp medicine cat shut skytail up. wrendawn was still a young warrior and was mentored by skytail, everyone thought differently of the warrior because of their age gap.

fernstar shook her head. "they stay. we don't kick cats out of our clan. those are our clanmates. we will mourn the loss of juniperkit but we will not blame flamepaw for her demise." the leader snapped, turning and entering her den.

_sedgepaw,_ sunnykit thought as her mother made the kits lay down. _i think i'm in love with you._


	3. Chapter 3

**allegiances ii**

**☼ _; sunclan  
_ leader :** fernstar - speckled gray she-cat with fern green eyes and a silver muzzle (daughter of tansybee)  
**deputy :** slatefur - dark gray tom-cat  
**medicine cat :** stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot  
_apprentice_ : russetpaw - light red she-cat (sister of flamepaw)  
**warriors** :  
ryefoot - light brown she-cat  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : flamepaw  
thorncreek - tabby tom-cat  
talonwhisker - muscular black tom-cat with unusually long claws (son of shadebriar)  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat (mate of thorncreek)  
**apprentices** :  
flamepaw - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetpaw)  
sagepaw -long haired white tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
sunnypaw - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezepaw -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (mother of talonwhisker's kits)  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat (expecting skytail's kits)  
**kits** :  
thymekit - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
birchkit - pale she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sparrowkit - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkkit - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**elders** :  
tansybee - very old long haired gray she-cat (mother of fernstar)  
shadebriar - black she-cat (mother of talonwhisker)

 ****☾ ** _; moonclan_**  
**leader** : willowstar - lithe dark brown she-cat  
**deputy** : dovewhisker - light gray tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
**warriors** :  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
sunhare - golden she-cat  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat (adoptive mother of sedgekit and shrewkit)  
**apprentices** :  
shrewpaw - black she-cat (sister of sedgepaw)  
sedgepaw - dark gray she-cat (sister of shrewpaw)  
**queens** :  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle (expecting runningthistle's kits)  
**kits** :  
violetkit - red she-cat (daughter of silverclouds)  
stonekit - silver tabby tom-cat (son of silverclouds)  
**elders** :  
thrushfang - light brown tom-cat  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat

**chapter ii**

☼

"thymekit! wake up!" sparkkit's voice sounded in her dream but she didn't wake up until she felt paws shaking her awake. her eyes opened to reveal her brothers and sister standing over her. her eyes scanned over the nursery. wrendawn, the new queen, watched them with a smile while seedbreeze frowned.

"let her sleep in, she has a big day ahead of her." seedbreeze mewed.

thymekit opened her eyes all the way. "what is today again?" she yawned.

"the apprentice ceremony!" birchkit squealed. "we're going to be apprentices and then we're going to the gathering like every apprentice does after they're apprenticed!" her soft kit fur was fluffed out excitedly and her bright green eyes shimmered in anticipation.

wrendawn chuckled. "don't forget flamepaw's warrior ceremony is tonight." she purred.

"yea, yea." birchkit rolled her eyes. "talonwhisker is coming back from his morning border patrol and then seedbreeze is going to get us ready for our mentors."

thymekit scooted closer to seedbreeze in the crook of her soft belly fur. "i'm going back to sleep, tell me when he gets here." she yawned. she never fell back asleep, her littermates talked the whole time until talonwhisker returned. thymekit did enjoy the feeling of being smothered in the scent of her mother, seeing how she would never experience that again.

the kits squealed as their father entered the den. "is everyone ready to go?" he purred as the tiny cats jumped around his paws.

seedbreeze nudged thymekit awake. "let's get you groomed," she purred, licking down thymekit's fluffy kit fur. soon all the kits were slicked down and ready for their ceremony. the four of them waited outside the den with their mother and wrendawn. fernstar appeared on the highest branch in the camp and called everyone to attention. thymekit shivered, she was equally excited as she was afraid.

the kit saw as the warriors came out of the warrior's den and the apprentice's den. thymekit's eyes met sunnypaw's and she blushed. _do i look okay?_ she thought nervously.

fernstar cleared her throat as all the clan cats settled down with _purr_ s at the nervous kits. "sparrowkit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as sparrowpaw. your mentor will be thorncreek. i hope thorncreek will pass down all he knows on to you." thymekit's brother graciously touched noses with his new mentor.

"sparrowpaw!" the clan cheered, talonwhisker and seedbreeze the loudest.

"sparkkit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as sparkpaw. your mentor will be specklebush. i hope specklebush will pass down all she knows on to you." sparkpaw touched his nose to his new mentor's excitedly, bumping into her nose a little roughly. a positive murmur spread throughout the clan.

"sparkpaw!" sunclan cheered again.

fernstar wait for them to be quiet again and rested her gaze on the last two she-cats. "birchkit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as birchpaw. your mentor will be slatefur. i hope slatefur will pass down all he knows on to you." the small she-kit touched noses with the deputy and thymekit felt a twinge of jealously for her.

"birchpaw!" the clan cats purred for her.

"and finally, thymekit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as thymepaw. your mentor will be thistleberry. i hope thistleberry will pass down all she knows on to you." thymepaw touched noses with the gray calico, her new mentor's eyes shining with pride and excitement.

"thymepaw! birchpaw! sparkpaw! sparrowpaw!" the clan clamored.

fernstar cleared her throat again for everyone to be quiet. "tonight is our own apprentice, flamepaw's warrior ceremony. be here around sun down to hear it. once he receives his warrior name and starts his vigil, we will go to the gathering to meet with moonclan. as tradition, we bring our new apprentices to the gathering so they can learn about the other clan under the light of a truceful full moon." she purred. "everyone is dismissed!"

thistleberry was kneading the ground excitedly. "alright so on my first day of apprenticeship i went and explored the territory. i think slatefur is taking birchpaw to the dusty grounds to learn how to hunt, thorncreek is taking sparrowpaw to clean out the elder's den-" she stifled a giggle. "and sparkpaw is learning to collect moss from trees; we'll be alone together all day. is that alright?" she asked.

thymepaw smiled. "it's perfect."

the two left the camp and walked onto the moor. "sunclan territory is on a moor, we mostly catch rabbits and birds. some cats like to go down into the tunnels but no one goes down there because it's very dangerous." they walked over to the river. "over there is moonclan territory, just across the river. you'll meet some moonclan cats later tonight. most are actually kind, you'll find." thymepaw bent her head and looked at her reflection in the river's surface.

their day dragged on until sun down when it was time to go back to camp for flamepaw's warrior ceremony. everyone was gathered around in the camp. thymepaw caught russetpaw's eyes, they shimmered with admiration and pride. the clan had taken in the rogue kits moons ago and they were finally respectable members of the clan. the apprentice squeezed in next to her sister, knowing very well birchpaw had feelings for flamepaw although they were 6 moons apart. "i'm so proud of him," birchpaw whispered into her sister's ear.

thymepaw giggled as fernstar shushed the clan again. flamepaw stood in the middle of camp and the clan formed a semicircle around him. his fur was licked clean. _probably by his sister,_ thymepaw thought with a purr.

"i, fernstar, leader of sunclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. he has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and i commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. flamepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?" fernstar was making eye contact with flamepaw.

"i do." flamepaw mewed, never breaking the eye contact.

"then by the powers of starclan, i give you your warrior name. flamepaw, from this moment on you will be known as flamebark. starclan honors you, and we welcome you as a full warrior of sunclan."

"flamebark! flamebark! flamebark!" thymepaw cheered with her clan, a smile plastered on her face. flamebark looked nervous being the center of attention.

fernstar smiled down at the new warrior proudly. "now, we will go to the gathering while flamebark sits his vigil for the night."  the cats shuffled around, some of the older warriors went back into their den to sleep. the elders sat near the entrance and thymepaw padded up to shadebriar. shadebriar was related to thymepaw because she kitted talonwhisker, thymepaw's father.

"ah yes, the new apprentice." shadebriar purred, nuzzling the small kit. birchpaw, sparrowpaw, and sparkpaw all raced out onto the moor, but slowing down to let fernstar lead. a small ravine was next to the river where they climbed down and met with moonclan. the river had turned into a quiet stream here.

sunnypaw came up from behind thymepaw. "alright, let's meet the other clan, shall we?" she followed the apprentice over to a dark gray she-cat and a silver tom. "thymepaw, this is sedgepaw and.."

"..stonepaw. he's our new medicine cat apprentice," sedgepaw said. "hey sunnypaw, how are you?" sedgepaw changed the subject, walking away from the two cats.

thymepaw felt awkward. "so, stonepaw, huh? that's a cool name."

stonepaw snorted. "yea, i guess so. did you know thyme is a medicine cat herb?"

the apprentice chuckled. "no, i didn't."

"it's only my first day as a medicine cat apprentice. i'm still learning all the names, but now i won't forget thyme." stonepaw said. "i know this sounds awkward to ask but do you think we could be friends?"

thymepaw giggled. "of course! all my littermates are so hyper, it's nice to find somecat as laid back as you."

stonepaw snorted. "my sister, violetpaw, is the same exact way."

the two cats talked the whole night, even during the gathering part. then it was time to leave.

sunnypaw padded up next to her. "so, how was your first gathering? fun, right?" she purred. they walked closely together, thymepaw's pelt felt hot.

"it was great!" thymepaw purred. she recalled how many times she laughed with stonepaw. _he's really funny!_ and it brought a smile to her lips.

she heard a snarl from behind her. "just remember to never fall in love with a moonclan cat. it's against warrior code." shadebriar said. thymepaw looked to sunnypaw, who seemed a little guilty. _i wonder what's the deal with her, whats she hiding?_

"i won't shadebriar, i promise!"

☾

stonepaw sighed, waking up the morning after the gathering. his mentor was awake already. _checking on yarrowbird i suppose,_ he thought with a sigh. fawnwhisper was on top of the queen all the time since stonepaw's birth when his mother died. he never knew her and wasn't hurt when she died, he was only a kit. yarrowbird and runningthistle, her mate, were older cats, almost ready to go into the elder's den. yet they were having kits just before going into the elders den.

he took some mouse bile from a mouse on the prey pile and left to clean the elder's fleas. it smelled disgusting in his mouth but the elders enjoyed the feeling of having their fleas removed.

half a moon passed and it was time for stonepaw to go to the starspring. fawnwhisper took him to get him acquainted with the starclan cats from long ago. "two ceremonies tonight." stumpyfoot purred.

"stonepaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of starclan as a medicine cat?" fawnwhisper asked.

"it is." stonepaw replied.

"come forward," fawnwhisper commanded as he leaned forward into the starspring, its shimmery water droplets catching his gaze. "warriors of starclan, i present you with this apprentice. he has chosen the path of a medicine cat. grant him your wisdom and insight so that he may understand your ways and heal his clan in accordance with your will." fawnwhisper mewed. "you may drink from the starspring once russetpaw finishes her ceremony."

stumpyfoot's whiskers twitched at the look on stonepaw's face, he was slightly disappointed. "i, stumpyfoot, medicine cat of sunclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. she has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her clan for many moons. russetpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between clan and clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?" he asked.

russetpaw smiled. "i do!" she purred, her excitement echoing off the walls of the cave.

"then by the powers of starclan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. russetpaw, from this moment you will be known as russetfeather. starclan honors you, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of sunclan." stumpyfoot said, resting his chin on russetfeather's head as she gave him a respectful shoulder lick.

fawnwhisper purred teasingly. "finally stumpyfoot can retire! it's all he's ever wanted."

stumpyfoot chuckled. "with my stump of a foot? you bet i do."

russetfeather drank from the stream and laid next to it, stonepaw followed. he felt the cold tingle of the water slip down his throat as he plunged into starclan.

a beautiful silver she-cat greeted him. "hello stonepaw!" she purred, nuzzling him. "ugh, it's been so long! you look so grown up and healthy! how's your sister?" she asked, her eyes glimmering. stonepaw did not know who she was and it shown on his face. "i'm silverclouds, your mother." she giggled.

"you're my mother?" stonepaw asked, he looked her up and down. _she looks a lot like violetpaw!_ he thought as he nuzzled her back, purring. "i missed you."

silverclouds giggled. "let's take a walk," she purred, twining her tail with his as the began to walk in a star filled forest. "i'm so proud of you for becoming a medicine cat, but i must say it's a lot to take on a prophecy like you must." she sighed.

stonepaw scoffed. "a prophecy? already? this is my first visit as a medicine cat!" he sighed. "i never heard what it was."

silverclouds shook her head. "if i tell you what it is a whole thing happens with lots of visuals, you'll have to ask your mentor. i think you ought to know, you're one of the chosen cats from moonclan to take part in it."

the apprentice shook his head. "but i don't know what the prophecy is yet!" he cried.

silverclouds' face became twisted and distorted, it frightened stonepaw. he wanted to scream and cry out for help, but he could not speak. her voice became eerie, crooked, and echoey as she spoke the prophecy, the forest around them turning into shadows where eyes glowed red as they stared at him.

" _scorching hot sun comes to kill  
lives will continue to go downhill  
sun and moon must work together  
to escape safely from this fatal weather  
three kits born from each  
will join together to help teach  
traveling to the original four  
where they may not or may accept you with an open door  
go slowly not,  
or perhaps those among you may not get what you sought._" __  



	4. Chapter 4

**allegiances iii  
** **☼** **_; sunclan  
_** leader :  fernstar - speckled gray she-cat with fern green eyes and a silver muzzle (daughter of tansybee)  
**deputy :** slatefur - dark gray tom-cat  
_ apprentice _ : birchpaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_ apprentice _ : sagepaw -long haired white tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
**warriors** :  
ryefoot - light brown she-cat and a graying muzzle  
_ apprentice _ : sneezepaw  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
_ apprentice _ : sunnypaw  
smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
_ apprentice _ : thymepaw  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
thorncreek - tabby tom-cat  
_ apprentice _ : sparrowpaw  
talonwhisker - muscular black tom-cat with unusually long claws (son of shadebriar)  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (mate of talonwhisker)  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat (mate of thorncreek)  
_ apprentice _ : sparkpaw  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetpaw)  
**apprentices** :  
sunnypaw - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezepaw -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
thymepaw - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
birchpaw - pale she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sparrowpaw - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkpaw - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**queens** :  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat (expecting skytail's kits)  
**kits** :

**elders** :  
tansybee - very old long haired gray she-cat, virtually blind (mother of fernstar)  
shadebriar - black she-cat (mother of talonwhisker)  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot

☾  **_; moonclan  
_** leader  : willowstar - lithe dark brown she-cat  
**deputy** : dovewhisker - light gray tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
_ apprentice _ : stonepaw - silver tabby tom-cat (son of silverclouds)  
**warriors** :  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
_ apprentice _ : sedgepaw  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
_ apprentice _ : shrewpaw  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
_ apprentice _ : violetpaw  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat  
**apprentices** :  
shrewpaw - black she-cat (sister of sedgepaw)  
sedgepaw - dark gray she-cat (sister of shrewpaw)  
violetpaw - red she-cat (daughter of silverclouds)  
**queens** :  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle (expecting runningthistle's kits)  
sunhare - golden she-cat (expecting dewyfox's kits)  
**kits** :

**elders** :  
thrushfang - light brown tom-cat  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat

**chapter iii**

☾

"fawnwhisper! i think yarrowbird is having her kits!" stonepaw's voice echoed in the camp as a wail came from the nursery. the medicine cat's ears lurched up and her chest tightened with fear.  _ don't let another silverclouds situation happen again, _ she told herself but it didn't help much with her fear. she grabbed some herbs and went to the den where sunhare, the new queen, was comforting the elderly she-cat.

the medicine cat purred, trying to relieve the tension, but it didn't help much. "bite down on this stick and when the convulsions come you have to push," fawnwhisper mewed. the healer felt the queen's stomach. "it feels as if you are having two kits. two isn't bad, it won't take very long." she tried to purr. yarrowbird rolled her eyes and squealed as another contraction shook her body. "push now!" fawnwhisper commanded. she felt stonepaw's cool eyes on her, watching and learning. it made her feel proud.

after a while the two kits were born and squirmed to their mother's teat, all cats were safe and healthy. runningthistle came in and nuzzled his mate. "oh, they're beautiful!" he mewed excitedly.

"one tom and one she-kit." fawnwhisper smiled.

yarrowbird purred as a light brown kit squealed. "lionkit," she mewed. "he should be named lionkit."

"and the other one patchkit?" runningthistle asked.

"lionkit and patchkit," yarrowbird confirmed. "thank you fawnwhisper."

the medicine cat blushed. "really.. it was nothing," she mewed. "i should get you some borage so there will be plenty of milk!" fawnwhisper padded away and brought back the leaves, runningthistle was asleep next to yarrowbird, his snores coincided with his kits suckling.

"he's getting so old and tired, i tell him to retire to the elder's den and he refuses because he wants to wait for me." yarrowbird purred at her mate. "i don't know if he'll last 6 more moons of hard warrior work. he's not so much in his prime anymore."

fawnwhisper giggled as yarrowbird ate the leaves. "i can ask willowstar to make an accommodation for him, she of all cats would understand."

"thank you so much for everything, honestly you've been such a big help." the older queen smiled.

"it's just part of the job." fawnwhisper mewed.

as she left the nursery to have some prey from the prey pile she heard muttering from the apprentice's den.

"-so what happened when the kits came out?" a small she-cat's voice asked.

"they came out in little sacks and fawnwhisper had to open them and lick them so they'd breathe!" stonepaw's voice answered. "it was so gross but it was so cool!"

"wait so what are their names?" another voice asked, probably sedgepaw's voice.

a pause. "i think yarrowbird named them patchkit and lionkit." stonepaw replied.

"would you mouse brains shut up already? dewyfox is training me extra hard so i won't be his apprentice when his kits are born and i'm exhausted and sore! please go somewhere else!" a cry was also sounded. fawnwhisper's whiskers twitched as the three apprentices left the den.

willowstar came back from a border patrol, her face curved down in a frown. "dovewhisker, fawnwhisper, please see me in my den." she said sharply. " _ now _ ."

fawnwhisper jumped up and followed her leader, hearing snickers from the apprentices.  _ i'm not in trouble, i haven't done anything bad. i helped bring two healthy kits into the world! i'm the opposite of being a bad medicine cat.  _ "dovewhisker, i don't know if you know this yet but there was a prophecy given to both fawnwhisper and stonepaw that forebodes of something really bad happening and lots of cats will die. i think we're on the brink of it now. fawnwhisper, could you tell me what you saw in your vision?"

the medicine cat blushed nervously as both her leader and deputy stared at her. "well, the river was gone and cats from both sides were thirsty and dying, there wasn't much fresh kill."

dovewhisker frowned. "so what? are you telling me the river is gone right now? our prey is plentiful, we have so many apprentices and kits and more on the way. i don't understand."

"the river levels have been a little low i've noticed, as i take sunset border patrols out everyday. does sunclan know this prophecy?" willowstar asked.

fawnwhisper shook her head. "i haven't thought to share it with them.." she trailed off.

"good, we have an edge on them. dovewhisker, i want bulkier border patrols in case they try to hop the river to steal our prey. i want one cat near the river at all times to sound in case somecat tries to cross. alert the clan for me?" willowstar asked politely.

dovewhisker purred. "of course i will, willowstar." he exited the den, leaving the two she-cats alone.

"do you think he will make a good leader?" she asked, it seemed almost to herself.

"well- i- uh-" fawnwhisper stammered.

"we both know i'm on my last life. if i would've never been leader i would be an elder or in starclan by now. with this prophecy and famine coming i know i may not make it much longer." the leader sighed. "i wish i could be younger and still have my nine lives. life was so easy when i first became leader." she reminisced.

fawnwhisper purred. "i'm sure it was," willowstar's eyes focused on fawnwhisper. "dovewhisker will make a good leader, he's very loyal and only wants the best for his clan."

"what a fine medicine cat you've made," she said. "do you have anything for my joints? they've felt a little sore lately."

"of course, i'll go get some right away." fawnwhisper mewed, leaving the leader's den with a sigh. it was terribly awkward to sit in there with the two senior cats. she didn't feel like she had a place there. _ you have a place, you're the clan's medicine cat, you're arguably the most important member of the clan, _ she thought as she grabbed some herbs for her leader and carrying them back.  _ everything will turn out okay soon enough i'm sure. _

☼

"faster birchpaw! you have to be faster!" slatefur hissed impatiently. "as soon as you reacted, i could've done away with the kits in the nursery for myself." thymepaw and sparkpaw were practicing fighting techniques with their mentors ever since sunclan found out moonclan had upped their defense against the other clan. sunclan didn't know why yet, but it made them upset. it didn't help their case when sagepaw left the warrior apprentices to become a medicine cat apprentice.

thistleberry sighed. "let's take a break, shall we? get some water, maybe sit in the river for a moment?" the calico suggested politely.

slatefur pointed his ears back and flicked his tail, dismissing birchpaw as he left.

"don't let slatefur get under your fur," thistleberry purred to birchpaw. "it's just the moonclan stuff stressing him out."

birchpaw nodded with a smile. "i figured, he's not usually like that. he's usually more fun."

the river was cool as thymepaw licked the water around her lips, her eyes strained to see moonclan cats in the trees. she heard birchpaw and sparkpaw giggling and suddenly her belly was exposed and her head under the water. she stood and shook the water around her face while birchpaw and sparkpaw couldn't stop their laughter. "let's see how you like it!" she laughed, jumping out of the water and pushing her littermates in.

"what do you think you're doing?" a snarl was heard from the moonclan side and thymepaw froze, her eyes locked on the cats appearing from the bushes. a dark tabby tom followed by a long haired calico she-cat and a black she-cat who looked like an apprentice.

the three apprentices jumped out of the water and stood by the two sunclan warriors, their pelts dripping from their play. "we don't want any trouble, twigwhisker." specklebush meowed.

"not stealing prey are we?" the calico hissed.

"oh, i do hope it isn't true!" twigwhisker mewed sarcastically. "i'd hate to send these apprentices home with some new scars." he hissed, baring his teeth.

sparkpaw and birchpaw bared their teeth at the black apprentice. thymepaw's heart beat in her ears. "thymepaw, do us a favor and alert fernstar of a border skirmish?" thistleberry mewed, twigwhisker let out a yowl and jumped at her as they began to fight on sunclan's side of the river. the apprentice raced away as fast as her feet could carry her, the water dripping off her pelt with every bound she made.

"help! border skirmish! near the river!" thymepaw said out of breath. fernstar jumped from her place in the camp.

"i need all warriors to come out of the warrior's den right now!" she commanded. warriors streamed out. "border skirmish, all of you must go and defend our territory. i will wait behind and guard the camp." she mewed. "lead them, thymepaw."

thymepaw's pelt felt hot as the warriors followed her lead but she liked the feeling of being in charge. by the time they got there, more moonclan cats had joined battle. thymepaw snarled and leaped onto violetpaw, they were friends at the gathering but not during this fight. she batted the apprentice she-cat's ears and made her squeal, ducking to avoid her paws. thymepaw lurched forward and sunk her teeth into her neck as a warning bite, forcing her to run away and flee.

the battle was over as quickly as it began. she looked around at her clanmates and saw that some were crying. seedbreeze was sobbing and so was specklebush. thymepaw walked over to them and saw the lifeless bodies of talonwhisker and thorncreek, well, almost lifeless. talonwhisker was holding on. "seedbreeze, take care of the kits, alright? they're going to make such strong warriors."

seedbreeze tried to smile and nod. "i know talonwhisker. i know."

"you should get that scratch on your face looked at as well." talonwhisker croaked with a smile, seedbreeze chuckled. "i love you so much my dearest, i will be waiting for you."

"no, please, talonwhisker, no!" seedbreeze cried as he exhaled one last time. she draped her body over his and sobbed.

they held a vigil for the three warriors who had fallen, ryefoot, talonwhisker, and thorncreek. it was heartbreaking for thymepaw to lose her father so soon.

_ we will meet again, thymepaw. i promise you, we will. _


	5. Chapter 5

**allegiances iv  
** **☼** **_; sunclan  
_** leader : fernstar - speckled gray she-cat with fern green eyes and a silver muzzle (daughter of tansybee)  
**deputy :** slatefur - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : birchpaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : sagepaw -long haired white tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
**warriors** :  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
_apprentice_ : sunnypaw  
smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
_apprentice_ : sneezepaw  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : sparrowpaw  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : thymepaw  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat  
_apprentice_ : sparkpaw  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
**apprentices** :  
sunnypaw - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezepaw -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
thymepaw - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
birchpaw - pale she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sparrowpaw - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkpaw - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**queens** :  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat (expecting skytail's kits)  
**kits** :

**elders** :  
tansybee - very old long haired gray she-cat, virtually blind (mother of fernstar)  
shadebriar - black she-cat (mother of talonwhisker)  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot

☾ **_; moonclan  
_** leader : willowstar - lithe dark brown she-cat  
**deputy** : dovewhisker - light gray tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
_apprentice_ : stonepaw - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
**warriors** :  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : sedgepaw  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : shrewpaw  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
_apprentice_ : violetpaw  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat  
**apprentices** :  
shrewpaw - black she-cat (sister of sedgepaw)  
sedgepaw - dark gray she-cat (sister of shrewpaw)  
violetpaw - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
**queens** :  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle (mother of runningthistle's kits)  
sunhare - golden she-cat (expecting dewyfox's kits)  
**kits** :  
patchkit - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of yarrowbird)  
lionkit - light brown tom-cat (son of yarrowbird)  
 **elders** :  
thrushfang - light brown tom-cat  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat

**chapter iv**

☾

the cats limped back to camp and the whole camp began to smell of blood. fawnwhisper rushed around tending to the cats and barking orders to stonepaw. she hadn't noticed willowstar limping to her den. the night went on and some cats fell asleep in their nests while others with more extensive injuries stayed in the medicine den. the sky was indigo when a few stood guard to the camp. dovewhisker had spoken about not needing guards by the river anymore although sunclan had beaten them. it was time to give willowstar the herbs for her aching joints.

fawnwhisper left the medicine den and went into the leader's den where she found the limp body of her leader laying in her nest. heat rushed through her pelt as she realized that her leader had gone to starclan, a gash was apparent through her soft underbelly. _perhaps if i had treated it, i could've saved her?_ fawnwhisper thought sadly, she knew she had to tell dovewhisker to take him to the starspring to get his 9 lives. she took the herbs out and put them back in the medicine den, then went into the warriors den to find him.

"dovewhisker?" she whispered, some cats perked their ears up, others pushed him to wake up. he perked his head up sleepily. "could you come with me for a moment?"

he stood and walked out. "what's up fawnwhisper? you look like you just saw a fox!" dovewhisker chuckled. "did you?"

fawnwhisper tried to smile. "willowstar is dead, we need to go and get your 9 lives now." she meowed. "it's a clear night, starclan is waiting for you."

the deputy dipped his head. "if it's starclan's will, let's go. quickly." he mewed sadly.

they left the camp and went up to starspring in silence. "stonepaw should be able to handle things while i'm away, at least for tonight." she chuckled. "sunhare is due for her kits any day now, if she has them tonight i trust him to be able to deliver them. he learned a lot during yarrowbird's kitting."

dovewhisker chuckled to himself quietly. "we're a strong clan. i believe we can be stronger. i just hope i will be able to do that."

"you shouldn't worry, the clan trusts you and loves you," fawnwhisper purred. "you're very charismatic."

the deputy giggled. "you flatter me."

"i speak the truth!" fawnwhisper retorted, their giggles dying down as they approached the stream.

the light gray tom-cat looked at the stream nervously. "what if i'm not ready?" he mewed.

"drink from the stream and shut your eyes, you will meet with your ancestors soon." she purred, laying next to him and drinking from it. she felt the cool water slip down her throat and into her stomach, next thing she knew she was in the starry forest of starclan.

dovewhisker was across the clearing from her and she watched as cats from his past greeted him. fawnwhisper couldn't recognize many, only silverclouds and willowstar. each cat gave him a life and willowstar concluded it. "i hail you by your new name, dovestar. your old life is no more. you have now received the nine lives of a leader, and starclan grants you the guardianship of moonclan. defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity."

"dovestar! dovestar! dovestar!" the clan cats shouted. fawnwhisper joined them and touched noses in celebration.

"willowstar, why did you never let me look at your injuries?" fawnwhisper asked as she touched noses in greeting with her old leader.

willowstar purred, her pelt was glowy and soft, she looked young again. "darling, you won't know this for a while. sometimes when you know the time is near there is no need of preventing it. everyone was ready for dovestar to be their leader anyway." she purred.

the starclan cats were slowly fading away and the two cats woke up next to starspring, the morning sun rising ahead and turning the sky pink. " _dovestar_ , shall we get going?" fawnwhisper purred his new name.

"sure!" dovestar purred, getting up and trotting out, he was taller and lankier than fawnwhisper so she had to run to catch up. "receiving 9 lives sure does give one a lot of energy!" the leader chuckled.

they were finally back at camp and every cat was stirring. "where did you go?" hawkice frowned when he saw the two cats.

"to receive his nine lives." fawnwhisper answered plainly.

the warrior's eyes widened as he looked back and forth between them. "dovestar! i'm so terribly sorry." he whimpered, ducking his head to the ground submissively.

dovestar's eyes shone proudly. "make the announcement that willowstar's vigil will be at sundown, i need to prepare her and it may take all day." fawnwhisper whispered in his ear. dovestar nodded and went up to make his announcement.

the medicine cat left and went to wake stonepaw. sunhare luckily hadn't had her kits while fawnwhisper was away. "stonepaw! i need your help," she mewed as he blinked open his dark blue eyes. "willowstar went to starclan yesterday and last night i went with dovestar to get his 9 lives. her vigil is tonight and we need to prepare her body. can you help me with that today? i would like to keep an eye on the wounded cats and sunhare for her kits."

stonepaw nodded, getting up. "where is willowstar now?"

"in her den, we can start after dovestar finishes his announcement. let's hurry so we don't miss it." she mewed, leaving.

dovestar gazed down on a crowd of confused cats. "last night i went to starspring to receive my 9 lives and to become your leader, willowstar says she wishes her best from starclan," a murmur was heard throughout the crowd. "her vigil will be held tonight. shall we get to more positive announcements?" he mewed with a smile but the clan cats were not amused. "i want to choose my deputy and appoint some new warriors." he grinned over to the direction of shrewpaw and sedgepaw, who looked shocked.

"whoo!" fawnwhisper shouted, trying to hype him up but no one followed. dovestar shot her a grateful look.

"i say these words before starclan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. the new deputy of moonclan is twigwhisker." dovestar said as everyone cheered for their new deputy.

the dark tabby warrior looked flustered and smiled, looking around. "thanks so much you guys." he giggled.

"now for our new warriors," dovestar purred, looking at the two she-cats. "i, dovestar, leader of moonclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. they have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and i commend them to you as a warrior in their turn. shrewpaw and sedgepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"i do." shrewpaw mewed.

"i do!" sedgepaw spoke quickly, her tail flicked at the end.

"then by the powers of starclan, i give you your warrior names. shrewpaw, from this moment on you will be known as shrewclaw. sedgepaw, from this moment on you will be known as sedgewhisper. starclan honors you and we welcome you as full warriors of moonclan." the leader finished.

the clan cheered. "shrewclaw! sedgewhisper! shrewclaw! sedgewhisper!"

fawnwhisper purred as the two young warriors blushed.

"since it is sunhigh i have a new plan instead of sitting your silent night vigil. today you will go onto sunclan territory and map out a plan for battle for when we take vengeance for willowstar." dovestar mewed.

shrewclaw's eyes shone. "no problem, dovestar! i'll do my duty as a warrior graciously!" she left the camp and sedgewhisper followed behind her slowly.

_maybe it's getting better,_ fawnwhisper thought as the cats dispersed, some hoping to go on patrols and some going back to sleep. patchkit and lionkit played in the shade not so far away nearby runningthistle and yarrowbird. _i hope i'm right._

☼

sunnypaw was awoken by the sound of a caterwhaul in the camp. _wrendawn is probably having her kits.. i have training today and i need to sleep!_ she sighed shutting her eyes and covering her ears. it had been a couple sunrises after the battle near the river, specklebush told her kits that the way thorncreek would've wanted them to move on was working hard in his name. sunnypaw had tried her best but she felt like she had two left paws and her head always seemed to be cloudy. assessments were in a few sunrises and she was sure sneezepaw was to become a warrior, but she wasn't confident in herself.

_maybe if you stopped staying up so late to meet with sedgewhisper you would pass,_ she told herself glumly. the moonclan warrior made her belly warm and her heart race, sedgewhisper was the only cat in the world who could ever make her happy and not being able to be with her was eating the apprentice from the inside. sunnypaw was getting butterflies in her belly as she thought of the she-cat. _you're so smitten!_ she thought to herself with a smile.

another screech was heard from the nursery and then silence. sunnypaw decided she couldn't sleep any longer and got up. russetfeather and sagepaw excited the nursery, both happy with what had been done. the apprentice stopped her brother. "is everything alright with her?" she asked, her eyes flicking towards the nursery.

"it's perfect! she had two toms and a she-kit. they're absolutely beautiful." sagepaw purred before leaving.

sunnypaw purred and sniffed at the prey pile. all the fresh kill was stale and old. _you should go catch something for wrendawn and skytail,_ she thought to herself. _go prove that you're responsible and worth something to the clan!_ the apprentice exited the camp and left to go out on the territory, opening her jaws to smell for prey.

_a rabbit!_ she scented. _and not from too long ago either._ she looked around for the prey. a bushy tail hopped along the moor and sunnypaw gave chase, her paws thudding against the ground as she raced after the hare.

the she-cat was catching up to it and leaped, landing straight on to it with her two front paws breaking its neck quickly. it was a good sized hare and would feed the new family well. sunnypaw struggled to carry it back to camp.

"there you are!" her mentor, sleekfur, mewed. "i thought you had just went to make dirt but here you are. fernstar pushed the assessments to today and i think you'll enjoy them. hunting wasn't one of them, but you've proved to be a valuable hunter."

sunnypaw blushed at the praise. she put the hare down before speaking. "i wanted to give this to skytail and wrendawn. all the prey this morning was stale." she mewed.

"go on then and come back out so we can start training." sleekfur purred.

she carried the hare to the nursery where skytail and wrendawn admired the three kits. "i caught you this hare, i thought you might enjoy it to keep your strength up for the kits."

wrendawn purred. "thank you so much sunnypaw!" skytail sniffed at it and took a bite, the mates shared it as sunnypaw left.

sleekfur was waiting with smokeheart and the other apprentices. "slatefur said it would make a good assessment and training to have you battle with the apprentices to win." smokeheart said coolly. she was never the type to particularly like apprentices and no one knew why.

they all walked out on the moor. "i want everyone to go for their best here, sunnypaw and sneezepaw will be sunclan defense and the rest of you will be moonclan warriors." sleekfur explained. "on your mark, get set, go!"

sunnypaw swiped away birchpaw by hitting her muzzle while sparrowpaw launched himself into sunnypaw with a single leap, knocking her backwards. she lost her breath as he launched his teeth towards her throat until she felt the apprentice being pulled off of her by sneezepaw. thymepaw and sparkpaw pretended to be dead, as did birchpaw and now sparrowpaw.

smokeheart stared her down coldly and judgementally, sleekfur didn't hide the disappointed look on her face. sunnypaw felt her breath catch in her throat. "we'll see how slatefur evaluates your performance." she mewed emotionlessly. the cats all stood up and walked away leaving sunnypaw and sneezepaw alone.

"look, sunnypaw, i'm super sorry.." sneezepaw awkwardly said. "i don't want to leave you in the apprentices den."

"it's not your fault," sunnypaw sighed. "you were just doing your assessment."

sneezepaw frowned and shook his head. "i'm going to march right up to fernstar and tell her i don't want to be a warrior without you." he huffed, leaving the she-cat alone.

it was sunhigh, sedgewhisper wouldn't be out of her warrior duties for some time. sunnypaw decided to sit next to the stream and nap next to the water. the sun was warm and the cool breeze floated off the water as she drifted off to sleep.

"hey, silly goose!" a familiar voice mewed, paws prodding sunnypaw in her soft underbelly. the apprentice opened her eyes to see sedgewhisper standing on top of her. "having a nice nap?" she purred, nuzzling sunnypaw. sunnypaw blushed and looked around the territory. no one was around so she nuzzled the moonclan warrior back.

"i missed you," sunnypaw purred. "i think i failed my warrior's assessment but i won't know until tonight."

sedgewhisper smiled softly. "i bet you did fine, silly furball," she purred. "you're a great warrior!"

sunnypaw blushed. "thank you," she mewed.

"sedgewhisper!" a cat yowled, the dark tabby tom appeared from the bushes. "what in starclan are you doing?"

the warrior flushed and panicked, her eyes darting to sunnypaw. "and you stay back in your own territory, flea brain!" sedgewhisper suddenly snarled, sunnypaw went along with it.

"oh please, don't hurt me!" the apprentice cried, scooting away frantically.

sedgewhisper batted sunnypaw's ear with her sheathed claws and sunnypaw ran away, sneaking a smirk with her before leaving her sight. she slowed down and sighed, going into camp. _i hope i didn't get sedgewhisper in trouble._ sunnypaw thought worriedly.

"sunnypaw, there you are! the ceremony is starting soon." specklebush mewed, licking down her daughter's loose fur. "you smell like moonclan, were you near the border?" the queen asked, frowning.

the apprentice smiled sheepishly. "just guarding the border. i didn't see any cat." she answered.

fernstar called everyone to attention. sunnypaw and sneezepaw sat near the front, sunnypaw's chest felt tight. _you won't get the ceremony yet, you don't deserve it,_ she thought glumly.

"i, fernstar, leader of sunclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. he has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and i commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. sneezepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?" fernstar started the ceremony.

sneezepaw purred. "i do."

"then by the powers of starclan, i give you your warrior name. sneezepaw, from this moment on you will be known as sneezethorn. starclan honors you and we welcome you as a full warrior of sunclan." fernstar mewed with a smile as the clan shouted his new name. sunnypaw felt her heart drop to her stomach. she must have failed. "i, fernstar, leader of sunclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. she has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and i commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. sunnypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?" the leader asked.

"i-i do! of course!" sunnypaw stuttered. the clan purred at her nervousness.

"then by the powers of starclan, i give you your warrior name. sunnypaw, from this moment on you will be known as sunnycreek. starclan honors you and we welcome you as a full warrior of sunclan." fernstar finished. "the two of you will stand vigil guarding the camp tonight in silence."

"sneezethorn! sunnycreek! sneezethorn! sunnycreek!" the clan cheered.

sunnycreek was about to burst with happiness. she sat her vigil that night in silence and moved her nest into the warrior's den the next day.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**allegiances v  
** ☼ **_; sunclan  
_****leader** : fernstar - speckled gray she-cat with fern green eyes and a silver muzzle (daughter of tansybee)  
**deputy :** slatefur - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : birchpaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : sagepaw -long haired white tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
**warriors** :  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : sparrowpaw  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : thymepaw  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat  
_apprentice_ : sparkpaw  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
**apprentices** :  
thymepaw - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
birchpaw - pale she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sparrowpaw - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkpaw - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**queens** :  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat (mother of skytail's kits)  
**kits** :  
milkkit - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
sandkit - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
birdkit - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**elders** :  
tansybee - very old long haired gray she-cat, virtually blind (mother of fernstar)  
shadebriar - black she-cat (mother of talonwhisker)  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot

☾ **_; moonclan  
_****leader** : dovestar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
_apprentice_ : stonepaw - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
**warriors** :  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
_apprentice_ : violetpaw  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat  
shrewclaw - black she-cat (sister of sedgewhisper)  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat (sister of shrewclaw)  
**apprentices** :  
violetpaw - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
**queens** :  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle (mother of runningthistle's kits)  
sunhare - golden she-cat (expecting dewyfox's kits)  
**kits** :  
patchkit - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of yarrowbird)  
lionkit - light brown tom-cat (son of yarrowbird)  
**elders** :  
thrushfang - light brown tom-cat, virtually blind and deaf  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat

 **chapter v** [trigger warning]

☾

sedgewhisper was having fresh kill with violetpaw a few sunrises after twigwhisker had caught her with sunnypaw. being the deputy, he could tell her to do anything and she would have to. he was blackmailing her now that he knew the truth. the warrior wished she could confide in someone but didn't want violetpaw to know she liked she-cats or that she was mates with someone from another clan. shrewclaw was almost completely out of her life. the new warrior had tied herself so tightly around dovestar's paw that the two were almost inseparable. runningthistle and mossbreeze, the senior warriors, ate with dovestar, twigwhisker, and sometimes fawnwhisper and stonepaw. _it's like they're in some type of special club._ sedgewhisper thought bitterly. shrewclaw was there too, of course.

twigwhisker stood and stretched, meowing something to dovestar before padding up to the high rock. "sunset border patrol will be lead by shrewclaw and will feature flamefeather, violetpaw, sedgewhisper, and hawkice. that is all." twigwhisker purred.

sedgewhisper rolled her eyes. she had been on every single patrol that had went out that day except for the ones that overlapped each other. she woke early and slept late at night and could never meet sunnypaw. she was exhausted. yet still, the warrior stood with violetpaw and walked out of the camp, shrewclaw lead the patrol proudly. they passed by the river and sedgewhisper scanned the hills for her she-cat. a rustle of the bushes indicated where sunnypaw was. sedgewhisper lagged behind the patrol until they were out of sight and she crossed the river to see sunnypaw.

the warrior touched noses with her mate and purred. "i was so worried about you and thought that warrior had gotten us for sure!" sunnypaw cried.

sedgewhisper sighed. "he knows about us and is punishing me for it, that's why i can't see you anymore.." she trailed off. "how was your ceremony?"

sunnypaw purred. "i'm sunny _creek_ now!"

"sunnycreek? that's got a nice ring to it." sedgewhisper purred and nuzzled her. "i need to go before they catch me. i love you!" she said, leaping away.

"goodbye!" sunnycreek mewed as sedgewhisper entered the forest and caught up with her patrol.

"sorry, i was marking the territory again," sedgewhisper mewed next to flamefeather and hawkice. they nodded understandingly.

they made it back to the camp and shrewclaw turned. "twigwhisker told me what you're doing," she mewed. "it's absolutely disgusting and i really advise you to cut it off with him," _she doesn't know who it is, she thinks i'm meeting a tom-cat but it's just sunnycreek,_ "you know who likes you? twigwhisker really likes you and i would think you should like him back."

sedgewhisper scoffed. "an old cat like him? so i'll look like you and dovestar?"

shrewclaw's neck fur fluffed up. "what about me and dovestar?"

"it's clear you like him! i don't know why, he's so old!" sedgewhisper hissed. "i don't like twigwhisker, he's annoying."

the black warrior snarled. "i love dovestar and he loves me. i would suggest you go to twigwhisker _before something bad happens_."

 _was that a threat?_ sedgewhisper thought as she went into the camp and into the warrior's den, curling up in her nest with her tail over her nose. she thought about being mates with twigwhisker. _he's so annoying, nothing like sunnycreek. she's kind and beautiful and so interesting,_ she purred as she thought about it.

the days went on since shrewclaw's threat and sedgewhisper never thought anything of it. this was until she went on a hunting patrol with twigwhisker and shrewclaw.

sedgewhisper crept through the undergrowth to pounce on a mouse but she snarled as she missed. suddenly, paws hit her into her back and knocked her breathless. "let go!" she hissed, twisting around to see her captor, shrewclaw spat in her face.

"alright, shrewclaw, you've been such a big help." twigwhisker's _purr_ was heard. "sedgewhisper, if you don't do what i say right now you will be banished from this clan and you'll never come back." he hissed. "you will be my mate and become a queen and bare my kits, you will cooperate or you won't like how you feel after i'm finished."

sedgewhisper felt sick. "i won't! i won't do it!" she snarled.

twigwhisker purred. "did i give you a choice?"

he picked up some moss from the trees and shoved it deep in her mouth with his paw, she gagged on it and cried. twigwhisker mounted her and began to give her kits. faster and faster and faster, sedgewhisper sobbed through the moss while shrewclaw watched, her mouth agape with shock. twigwhisker howled and laid back. "go. before i feel like doing this again."

the gray warrior ripped the moss out of her mouth and shot the two warriors a hateful glance. she raced towards the border and jumped in the river. the river washed away all her scent from her clan. _it's like i'm not even in moonclan anymore,_ she thought and she stood and sneaked onto sunclan territory. the crept towards their camp and laid near a rock to disguise herself as she watched the camp below. every cat seemed happy as they all shared tongues together and shared fresh kill. there were no cliques. it almost calmed her.

"sedgewhisper?" a voice mewed from behind her. "what are you doing here?" sedgewhisper turned to see sunnycreek. she nuzzled her and started to cry.

"you have to help me," she sobbed. "twig-twigwhisker is making me have his kits. i don't want them. i want to be with you. i can't live in that clan anymore."

sunnycreek's eyes filled with tears and she nuzzled the moonclan warrior. "i'll tell fernstar, you can stay here. i want you to be safe." the pale warrior mewed. "think about it, if you join sunclan those won't be twigwhisker's kits anymore, they'll be ours. our little kits." she was optimistic. sedgewhisper forced a purr.

"i don't think she'll let me in." sedgewhisper mumbled.

sunnycreek frowned. "she will when you tell her the whole story. come on, let's go talk to her."

they went into the camp where they were met with angry eyes from sunnycreek's clanmates. sedgewhisper saw a tortoiseshell queen sweep her kits away. "isn't that sedgepaw from moonclan?" she heard some cat ask.

"fernstar, may i speak with you?" sunnycreek asked politely.

the silvery leader's fern green eyes flicked from sunnycreek to sedgewhisper. "come into my den," they went in and she sat in her mossy nest. "are you not a moonclan apprentice?" she asked.

"i'm a warrior.." sedgewhisper mumbled.

"then why betray your clan and come here?" fernstar asked plainly. sedgewhisper told her the whole story from the past moons as she was bullied and raped. fernstar thought for a moment and looked her in her eyes, the leader's wise green eyes stared into hers and it was soul sucking. "you may stay, go to russetfeather and explain your situation, she will watch you to see if you are expecting. you may sleep in the nursery, although skytail spends a lot of time there with his kits and mate.. it shouldn't matter much. you are welcome to stay and welcome to leave whenever you need." she forced a purr.

sedgewhisper felt relieved, she went to the nursery and laid on one of the nests, a sandy tom-cat nestled himself around a quite younger tortoiseshell she-cat. three pairs of eyes looked over at her. "mommy, who is that in the nursery?" one she-kit asked.

"rogue scum, that's who." the sandy tom replied in a snarl, glaring to sedgewhisper. she twisted around in her nest and faced away from them, but she couldn't seem to fall asleep in fear that she might be killed.

☼

sunrises later sedgewhisper was checked again by russetfeather, the medicine cat was measuring the queen's waist if it grew it all. "it's grown exponentially since you first arrived sedgewhisper," russetfeather sighed. "you're having kits."

the gray queen felt tears in her eyes that twigwhisker had forced her to do that and shrewclaw watched him do it and helped him. she had a hard time sleeping at night because every time she slept she had nightmares of it and it would never stop replaying in her head. "okay.. um.. thanks russetfeather."

the medicine cat smiled gently. "i'll tell fernstar you'll be staying? i'm terribly sorry for skytail by the way, he's never really liked rogues since his mother left the clan to be a rogue. it's not just you, my brother, flamebark, and i suffer through it everyday and we're finally getting some acceptance from the clan. if he bothers you i can make sure he isn't allowed to sleep in the nursery anymore." she chuckled sadly.

sedgewhisper smiled. "thanks so much.. i don't deserve any of this." she sighed.

russetfeather frowned. "of course you deserve this! you left an abusive clan and joined ours and we're going to protect you. you're our clanmate."

the queen smiled. "thank you."

russetfeather licked her shoulder. "you can stay in my den any time, we have an extra nest here and there's only a couple wounded cats still here from the last battle. they probably won't mind."

the gray she-cat dipped her head and went to the prey pile to pick up a wood mouse. "so you're staying here permanently?" a dark gray tom-cat mewed from beside her, startling her. "it's alright, i know you're no threat. i know what happened- word travels fast from leader to deputy and medicine cat. i don't think anyone in the clan knows."

sedgewhisper nodded slowly. "i hope i can stay here, some cats don't want to welcome me because i was a rogue kit raised in moonclan."

the tom sat next to her. "i'm slatefur, i'm the deputy here, i'm here to help you and think we could be friends."

she smiled. "thanks, i'd love to be friends," sedgewhisper purred. "would you like to share this mouse?"

slatefur nodded. "i'm famished. being deputy is hard and will probably be hard for the rest of my life. i need to manage border patrols and hunting patrols and the apprenticeship curriculum, battle strategy, defense strategy.." he trailed off. "so you just became a warrior?"

"yea, only a moon or so ago." sedgewhisper sighed. "i should be enjoying becoming a warrior and now i'm just having kits i didn't want."

slatefur was very quiet. "i'm so sorry." he mewed.

sedgewhisper frowned. "i shouldn't have brought it up. you'll like these kits too, right?"

the deputy smiled and nodded. "i love all kits. they're all so promising. i never had any of my own, i was too busy trying to become deputy or head warrior." he laughed. "my apprentice should be coming back from her hunting patrol soon, would you like to watch us train?"

"that would be lovely." sedgewhisper purred. the patrol came back with something more than prey. three easily recognizable cats entered. "oh no.." she whimpered as she recognized twigwhisker, hawkice, and bubblingwater.

twigwhisker smiled at slatefur. "so you've met my mate, huh? she's a mouse brain, don't even know where her own clan is," he laughed. "she's carrying my kits! i need a _tighter grip_ on her, she needs a _punishment_."

slatefur stood. "she's my clanmate now, actually." he growled, his neck fur fluffing up.

the moonclan deputy kept his cool but his eyes were blazing with anger. "may i speak to fernstar?"

"you may." fernstar's voice said from behind him. "have you come to take your clanmate back?" _please, don't let him take me back.._ sedgewhisper was afraid.

twigwhisker smiled and nodded. "take her back and collect some _debts_." he mewed casually. "moonclan, attack!" he yowled, sedgewhisper watched as he pounced on fernstar and moonclan cats streamed from the walls of the camp. the queen felt panicked as she recognized shrewclaw grapple with skytail as dewyfox stole wrendawn's kits. sedgewhisper jumped up and swiped him away, wrendawn was frozen in fear as he took her three kits.

sedgewhisper jumped onto dewyfox while wrendawn swept her kits back with her tail. dewyfox jumped for her throat but sedgewhisper dodged, taking her claw across his face. he howled in pain as blood dripped into his eyes. shrewclaw and skytail still fought and a old black she-cat jumped on the moonclan warrior, only to receive claws to her throat. she bled out on the ground and died, but skytail wrestled the black warrior off and she retreated.

all the moonclan cats were gone. sedgewhisper looked at her gashed pelt but saw the bodies on the ground. the elder had died, the medicine cat apprentice had been killed, and so had fernstar. the cats were broken over the losses and the queen was upset as well over the course of the moon.

since the battle when sedgewhisper helped skytail and wrendawn they had both accepted her as apart of their clan and weren't so hostile. slatestar had made her a full warrior of sunclan. she was happy that she would finally be safe and so would her kits also.

 _everything will be alright,_ she thought laying down one night and falling asleep peacefully.


	7. Chapter 7

**allegiances vi  
** ☼ **_; sunclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : birchpaw  
**deputy :** smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
**warriors** :  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : sparrowpaw  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : thymepaw  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat  
_apprentice_ : sparkpaw  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
**apprentices** :  
thymepaw - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
birchpaw - pale she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sparrowpaw - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkpaw - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**queens** :  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat (mother of skytail's kits)  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat (formerly of moonclan)  
**kits** :  
milkkit - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
sandkit - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
birdkit - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

☾ **_; moonclan  
_****leader** : dovestar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
_apprentice_ : stonepaw - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
**warriors** :  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
_apprentice_ : violetpaw  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat  
**apprentices** :  
violetpaw - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
**queens** :  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle (mother of runningthistle's kits)  
sunhare - golden she-cat (mother of dewyfox's kits)  
shrewclaw - black she-cat (expecting dovestar's kits)  
**kits** :  
patchkit - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of yarrowbird)  
lionkit - light brown tom-cat (son of yarrowbird)  
lightningkit - golden tom-cat (son of sunhare)  
morningkit - silver she-cat (daughter of sunhare)  
**elders** :  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat

**chapter vi**

☼

"are you ready for assessments?" slatestar asked his apprentice, birchpaw. "we're having a hunting contest."

thymepaw heard her sister purr as they spoke. the two cats almost stood shoulder to shoulder, slatestar was stocky and well built while birchpaw had grown to have a smaller frame to be quicker. another warrior, yewflight, followed along with them to be an unbiased judge. thymepaw's mentor couldn't unfix her eyes from him. "you should talk to him!' thymepaw purred, stirring her mentor out of her staring.

thistleberry laughed. "he wouldn't like a cat like me, he's so focused on becoming leader. we're just friends." she smiled sheepishly.

the apprentice sighed. "it wouldn't hurt to let you know how you feel," she purred.

"not until you tell sneezethorn!" thistleberry retorted. thymepaw recognized that sunnycreek was already mates with sedgewhisper. they spent a lot of time together and it was very clear. thymepaw started to focus on her brother instead, he seemed to reciprocate the feelings as well. "i might be too old to have kits, every cat seems to be having them right after they have their warrior's ceremony."

the apprentice frowned but didn't say anything. the day went on and they caught lots of prey for their clan. it was finally time for their warrior ceremony. slatestar called everyone to the camp for the ceremony, seedbreeze's eyes were shining with pride as her kits were getting their warrior names. thymepaw noticed sunnycreek and sedgewhisper off near the nursery while wrendawn laid outside the entrance with her kits watching quietly.

"i, slatestar, leader of sunclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. they have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and i commend them to you as warriors in their turn," he paused, looking down at the apprentices. "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"i do." sparrowpaw answered.

"i do," sparkpaw mewed.

"i do!" birchpaw meowed with a grin.

"i do.." thymepaw stuttered nervously.

the leader smiled. "then by the powers of starclan, I give you your warrior names. sparrowpaw, sparkpaw, birchpaw, and thymepaw, from this moment on you will be known as sparrowtalon, sparkwhisker, birchshade, and thymebriar. starclan honors you all and we welcome you as full warriors of sunclan." he said.

"sparrowtalon! sparkwhisker! birchshade! thymebriar!"

thymebriar blushed at the chanting and the clan dispersed, some going to sleep in their nests and others stayed out to congratulate the warriors. "thymebriar, can i talk to you?" sneezthorn asked. she nodded and they walked out, thymebriar caught thistleberry's teasing gaze. "i don't know if you feel the same way but i really actually like you.. i thought i would ask you to be my mate?"

the new warrior smiled. "i would love to." she purred.

she sat her silent vigil that night and moved her nest into the warrior's den in the morning. she slept until sun high when smokeheart assigned her to a hunting patrol. the warrior then went out and hunted with her clanmates. sneezethorn shared prey with her that sun down.

"so, since we're mates now, do you think we should have kits?" sneezethorn asked.

thymebriar purred. "of course we should but i want to be a warrior for a couple moons." he nodded, understanding.

the younger warrior caught the eye of her former mentor with her tail twined with yewflight's tail. they seemed happy. birchshade and flamebark had been mates for moons but now could show it because she wasn't an apprentice anymore. seedbreeze and slatestar were getting closer, almost more than friends, since talonwhisker's death. _everyone else is probably going to have kits soon, the nursery will be so full!_ she thought. _if you have your kits before they do maybe you can leave the nursery earlier and apprentice one.._ she played around with the idea in her mind. "kits are a pawful anyway," sneezethorn muttered.

"wait, if we have kits before everyone else does maybe i can mentor one!" thymebriar purred. "i change my mind, we should try to have some as soon as possible."

sneezethorn's tail curled. "right now?" he asked.

"sure." thymebriar giggled, standing up and twining her tail with his as they exited the camp together.

☾

stonepaw padded alongside fawnwhisper to the starspring at the half moon to meet with his warrior ancestors. they greeted russetfeather and touched noses with her. she had lost her apprentice moons ago in battle and was still hurt emotionally. "one of wrendawn's kits, birdkit, seems interested in being a medicine cat so that's always nice." she was meowing.

"i, fawnwhisper, medicine cat of moonclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. he has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help he will serve his clan for many moons. stonepaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between clan and clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"i do." stonepaw mewed.

"then by the powers of starclan i give you your true name as a medicine cat. stonepaw, from this moment you will be known as stonestorm. starclan honors you and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of moonclan." fawnwhisper mewed. "drink from the starspring."

stonestorm lapped up the droplets from the starspring, he had noticed the spring was no longer a spring but rather just a hole in the stone where water droplets came out of. the water felt warm and toxic but he felt himself fall into a dream, only to wake up in a pit of dirt. the starclan cats chanted the prophecy over and over in distinct voices making stonestorm's hair raise. his chest felt tight.

a familiar cat appeared. _sedgewhisper!_ he tried to move and shout but he couldn't. a different tom-cat that he didn't quite recognize had also appeared. he seemed younger than stonestorm and he remembered the pelt patterns. _lightningkit?_ _from sunhare's litter?_ he wondered. then he scented sunclan and saw a light tabby she-cat appear. he recognized her from gatherings but didn't know her name. he saw thymepaw also. _thymepaw? she's in the prophecy too?_ he thought. another cat, a tortoiseshell tom-cat also appeared that stonestorm had never seen in his life.

" _save us,_ " the starclan cats sang sorrowfully. it was eerie and discomforting. "please, stonestorm, _save us!_ " the voices suddenly screamed into his ear fur.

stonestorm screamed. "i can't! i don't know what to do or how to help them!" he sobbed. "i can't!"

the medicine cat stirred awake, his heart racing. "what message did starclan share with you that made you so terrified?" russetfeather asked next to fawnwhisper. fawnwhisper shot him a look that said not to say the prophecy, he obeyed.

"n-nothing.." stonestorm purred. "i think it was just retelling the past."

russetfeather believed his lie. "odd. i wonder if they are boding bad things will happen to us just like in the past." the she-cat left the moonclan medicine cats alone together.

"what did starclan show you? dovestar told us not to tell anything to sunclan." fawnwhisper explained.

stonestorm blinked. "why would i tell you?" he snapped. "sunclan has every right to know about the prophecy. keeping it from them is against medicine cat code. you will suffer the consequences later, i'm sure." he purred snootily. _if i tell her what i saw she would tell dovestar and he would put a stop to it immediately. perhaps he'd kill the cats involved!_ he rushed out of the medicine den and left his old mentor in his dust. _what is dovestar holding over her to make her quiet?_


	8. Chapter 8

**allegiances vii  
** ☼ **_; sunclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
**deputy :** smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
_apprentice_ : sandpaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : milkpaw  
sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
birchshade - pale she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
**apprentices** :  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
sandpaw - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
**queens** :  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat (formerly of moonclan)  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (expecting slatestar's kits)  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat (expecting yewflight's kits)  
**kits** :  
stagkit - dark gray tom-cat (son of sedgewhisper)  
webkit - dark tabby tom-cat (son of sedgewhisper)  
petalkit - gray she-cat (daughter of sedgewhisper)  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

☾ **_; moonclan  
_****leader** : dovestar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : twigwhisker - dark tabby tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : patchpaw  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
_apprentice_ : stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
**warriors** :  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : lionpaw  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
**apprentices** :  
patchpaw - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of yarrowbird)  
lionpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of yarrowbird)  
**queens** :  
sunhare - golden she-cat (mother of dewyfox's kits)  
shrewclaw - black she-cat (expecting dovestar's kits)  
**kits** :  
lightningkit - golden tom-cat (son of sunhare)  
morningkit - silver she-cat (daughter of sunhare)  
**elders** :  
snailtail - tabby brown she-cat  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle

**chapter vii**

☾

stonestorm went out to collect herbs for fawnwhisper, the storage was low as they days grew hotter and drier. _oh starclan,_ he prayed. _tell me what to do to save my clan!_ the tom-cat sighed, opening his jaws to scent for any borage. shrewclaw was due to have her kits soon and he wanted to make sure they had enough milk. he heard a sharp scream from across the forest. _probably another skirmish,_ the medicine cat thought gloomily. _i should go see if everything is okay._

he padded to where he heard the sound and smelled the sharp scent of blood. as he neared, he saw the young apprentice, patchpaw, laying in a pool of her own blood. alarm pierced through him, she had barely been an apprentice, she couldn't be dead! he sniffed at her clawed pelt and she stirred. "stonestorm, you shouldn't be here, y-you have to go.." patchpaw moaned, trying to sit up but wincing.

"i'm your medicine cat and you're hurt," stonestorm retorted. patchpaw sat motionless and blinked tears from her eyes. "is everything okay? do you want to go back to camp?" he mewed softly.

patchpaw jerked her head away. "leave me here to die, it'll just be easier that way," she muttered. "i'm never going back to camp again. i never want to see twigwhisker ever again.." she trailed off into a sob. "please, don't let me go back."

stonestorm forced a purr. "let's make you a nest in one of these hollow trees, alright? then we can see what happened," he picked her up by the scruff of her neck and laid her down. she groaned but didn't say a word. "did twigwhisker do this to you?" he began to lick at her wounds and she did not respond.

"yea," she sighed, her amber eyes gazing off into the distance. "he broke my leg and scratched me.. he forced me to do things and i-i didn't want to do them an-and i just can't go back stonestorm!" she started to cry again. "please don't make me go back!"

stonestorm nuzzled her and she cried into his chest fur. "do you think you will have his kits?"

"i-i think so," she wailed. "i'm just like sedgewhisper!"

stonestorm frowned. "why are you like sedgewhisper?"

"she-she left camp after this happened to her moons ago," patchpaw sniffled. "i think living in sunclan would be nicer than here."

the medicine cat looked up to the sky. it was only sunhigh. _i can go to sunclan and explain the prophecy to russetfeather and talk to slatestar about patchpaw and wash her scent off me in the river and won't be late back to camp!_ he thought. "let's go there, i will carry you." he shouldered the broken apprentice onto his back and walked amongst the trees, looking out for any of his clanmates before leaping across the riverbed. it was only halfway full he noticed.

they entered the camp and were greeted with hostile looks and curious stares. stonestorm left to the medicine den. "russetfeather?" he called.

the red she-cat's head popped out and she smiled as she saw him. "stonestorm! how are you?" russetfeather touched noses with him. "who is this?"

stonestorm helped patchpaw off his shoulders. "you have to help moonclan, the deputy, twigwhisker, is impregnanting she-cats left and right without their permission. patchpaw went through what sedgewhisper went through, but she's barely hanging on, as you can see." he said.

a small tortoiseshell she-cat greeted patchpaw. "hi, i'm birdpaw!" she mewed. "what's your name?"

"patchpaw." the moonclan apprentice meowed weakly.

russetfeather looked at her sympathetically. "i'll take her in, she can sleep in the back of the medicine den where our patients sleep. it's very cool back there and comfortable. she will be safe here. patchpaw, darling, can you walk?"

"n-no," patchpaw whimpered, her eyes flicked over to stonestorm. "what's happening stonestorm?"

"you're going to stay in the sunclan medicine den, far away from twigwhisker. birdpaw will keep you company, right, birdpaw?" stonestorm forced a purr. "i'll visit you when i can."

he picked up the kit and carried her back to the medicine den. "what are her injuries specifically?" russetfeather asked.

"battle wounds, broken leg, she thinks she will have twigwhisker's kits but i don't think it's possible for a cat her age to." stonestorm sighed.

the sunclan medicine cat smiled sadly. "the kits are so small and so weak, they don't usually survive the stress of the birth or the sunrises after."

stonestorm nodded. "i'm terribly sorry i lied about the prophecy, perhaps another time i can tell you the whole truth? if my clan finds out i've been gone so long they'll have my pelt. literally." he sighed. "take care of patchpaw." he left after and bathed in the river to get her blood off him, he walked into the camp soaking wet.

"and where have you been all this time?" fawnwhisper snapped when he got back. "do you think collecting herbs empty pawed takes half a day? why are you all wet?"

stonestorm hissed into her face. "it's none of your business!" he snapped. "it's mine and i'm handling it." he snarled, curling up into his nest and facing away from his old mentor. he felt her sad eyes staring deep into his back before sighing and exiting.

☼

thymebriar felt a stir in her belly one early morning as she laid curled up with sneezethorn. it felt like soft butterflies but she couldn't say how it felt exactly. _you did say you would have his kits and you have been trying.._ she thought, smiling at him dreamily. _you got a good one._ her soft purr woke him. "what are you purring about?" sneezethorn asked dreamily.

"i think i feel our kits." thymebriar chuckled.

sneezethorn nuzzled her abdomen gently with his nose. "hello kits!" he whispered.

"can you take this out of the den? some of us are trying to sleep!" sparrowtalon hissed.

the two warriors left and stretched in the camp, sharing tongues in the already hot sunlight of the camp. sedgewhisper's kits were already awake as well, sedgewhisper took a nap outside the nursery where she watched them play. flamebark and birchshade walked through the camp entrance and thymebriar noticed she was expecting. _she should be in the nursery!_ thymebriar thought to herself.

smokeheart walked out from the deputy's den and stretched, purring at the sight of the three kits. she had a soft heart and hard exterior, she never showed it. "alright, would you all like to go on a border patrol? not birchshade." smokeheart mewed.

birchshade frowned. "why not?"

"moonclan are hostile, you're clearly expecting kits." smokeheart said. "flamebark, go get wrendawn and she will patrol with you."

the queen rolled her eyes and laid next to sedgewhisper, waking her up.

flamebark lead the patrol as they walked along the river. the river was drying up slowly, this greenleaf had lasted longer than the ones before and twolegs were doing work miles ahead of the starspring, slowing it down. the prey was slowing down as well, it wasn't a good time to bring up kits but thymebriar couldn't go back now. "moonclan scent on our territory, it's fresh." the red warrior hissed for them to be quiet.

a golden queen was walking around, her fear scent sharp in thymebriar's nose. two kits, only 5 moons old, followed her closely.

"what do we have here?" flamebark growled.

the queen flinched and turned. "nothing terribly wrong, just a- um, an adventure.." she mewed nervously. her two kits were also afraid.

wrendawn frowned. "is everything okay in moonclan?"

the queen's eyes flicked from cat to cat and she shook her head. "we should take her to slatestar and ask him what to do." thymebriar mewed.

sneezethorn agreed. "what are your names?"

the queen smiled nervously. "i'm sunhare, this is lightningpaw and morningpaw." she meowed.

thymebriar felt the stirring in her stomach roughly as she looked at lightningpaw, she felt so sick as if she had eaten mouse bile. _something is different about him,_ she thought. _something special._ she felt her eyes glaze over as she collapsed, sneezethorn's worried voice echoed in her ears but she couldn't hear him as she fell into a sleep.

the young warrior opened her eyes and saw her father waiting for her. "no, no, no!" she cried. "i'm not dead! i can't be dead!"

talonwhisker purred. "relax young one, you are quite the opposite," he purred, nuzzling her. thymebriar calmed down quickly. "you've met every cat from the prophecy."

"prophecy? what prophecy?" thymebriar asked.

talonwhisker cleared his throat before continuing. " _scorching hot sun comes to kill, lives will continue to go downhill. sun and moon must work together to escape safely from this fatal weather; three kits born from each will join together to help teach, traveling to the original four, where they may not or may accept you with an open door. go slowly not, or perhaps those among you may not get what you sought._ " he mewed. "the sunclan cats of the prophecy are milkpaw, sunnycreek, and you. the moonclan cats are sedgewhisper, stonestorm, and lightningpaw."

"but i'm supposed to have sneezethorn's kits," thymebriar mewed. "couldn't you pick a different cat?"

"starclan has willed you a fast gestation and easy birth for your kits, you must leave alone with sunnycreek and milkpaw. you can't take sneezethorn or any of the kits, they need to stay behind where it's safe. it won't be the last time you see them, i promise you." he purred. "go and have your kits, you'll have them at the same time as birchshade."

thymebriar woke up in the medicine den with russetfeather. "you had a seizure out on the patrol, but you seem okay now. your kits are growing so quickly!"

"how long have i been asleep?" the queen asked.

"half a moon, you didn't miss anything. no battles and no kits." she chuckled, purring. "seedbreeze's kits could be born any day now."

thymebriar nodded, getting up and stretching. a black and white apprentice laid next to her, her belly swollen with kits as well. _is everyone having kits this season?_ thymebriar thought. "i should go on patrol and help the clan.."

"no, you can go into the nursery, the other queens are there and they'll be happy to see you!" russetfeather meowed. "off you go."

the queen joined the other queens in the nursery and was comfortable there.


	9. Chapter 9

**allegiances viii  
** ☼ **_; sunclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
**deputy :** smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
_apprentice_ : sandpaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur and a graying muzzle  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
 _apprentice_ : lightningpaw  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : milkpaw  
sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
 _apprentice_ : morningpaw  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
sunhare - golden she-cat (formerly of moonclan)  
**apprentices** :  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
sandpaw - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of sunhare)  
morningpaw - silver she-cat (daughter of sunhare)  
**queens** :  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat (formerly of moonclan)  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (mother of slatestar's kits)  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat (mother of yewflight's kits)  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (expecting sneezethorn's kits)  
birchshade - pale she-cat (expecting flamebark's kits)  
patchpaw - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of yarrowbird, formerly of moonclan)  
**kits** :  
stagkit - dark gray tom-cat (son of sedgewhisper)  
webkit - dark tabby tom-cat (son of sedgewhisper)  
petalkit - gray she-cat (daughter of sedgewhisper)  
cinderkit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
harekit - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
lilykit - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadkit - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

☾ **_; moonclan  
_****leader** : twigstar - dark tabby tom-cat  
**deputy** : dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
_apprentice_ : stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
**warriors** :  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : lionpaw  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
soot - dark tom-cat (former rogue)  
gorse - light tabby she-cat (former rogue)  
aspen - light speckled gray she-cat (former rogue)  
blizzard - long haired white tom-cat (former rogue)  
**apprentices** :  
lionpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of yarrowbird)  
**queens** :  
shrewclaw - black she-cat (mother of dovewhisker's kits)  
**kits** :  
cloudkit - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightkit - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitekit - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
**elders** :  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle  
dovewhisker - light gray tom-cat, stepped down from leadership because of dementia

**chapter viii**

☼

thymebriar woke to the sound of her sister in labor. the other queens moved their kits out of the nursery and thymebriar licked birchshade's ears to calm her while russetfeather got ready with birdpaw. the queen watched as birchshade panicked and sobbed until two she-kits were born, but her blood didn't stop flowing. something was wrong. "russetfeather what's wrong with her? why won't the bleeding stop?" thymebriar mewed worriedly.

birchshade panted and licked her kits, they squealed. russetfeather went to get flamebark and explain the situation. he laid next to his mate and licked her ears gently. "it's okay, birchshade, we'll take care of them. you can go. it won't be a big deal. you can leave." soon after the queen had taken her last breath and she was dead, two she-kits laid next to her. one was pale, almost creamy she-kit and the other a bright firey red. "berrykit and emberkit. that'll be their names."

russetfeather nuzzled her brother before leaving. "i'll get seedbreeze to nurse them." she sighed.

thymebriar felt nervous about her own kits. would she be sick as well. _you're a cat of a prophecy, you can't die,_ she thought. she missed her sister terribly already. her two kits suckled with seedbreeze's kits, cinderkit and harekit. everything was so tragic, life was getting so hard. there was no water and no prey. the prophecy was coming true. thymebriar was frightened.

in the middle of the night sunrises later, thymebriar's kits were coming too. russetfeather made sure she was okay when they came and four kits were brought into the world. sneezthorn was delighted with them, he now had two sons and two daughters. "can we name sandy she-cat hazelkit?" sneezethorn asked. "and maybe this little tom-cat, pebblekit? because he's little like a pebble?"

thymebriar laughed and purred. "and the others could be named jaykit and fishkit?"

"perfect!" sneezethorn purred.

he stayed in the nursery that night even though it was crowded. sedgewhisper's kits were almost ready to be apprenticed and that would make room for all the queens. soon the kits were weaned off of the milk and thymebriar was ready to leave with milkpaw and sunnycreek. each had already gotten their message and were ready to go, sedgewhisper as well as lightningpaw. they all snuck out one night to leave with stonestorm.

☾

the medicine cat was out collecting herbs with his sister, violetberry. "i'm just saying, i have deep connections with sunclan and i can get you into a safer place with no rogues and no twigstar." stonestorm mewed. twigstar had started inviting rogues into the clan to make them stronger and they were disrespectful and predatory to violetberry.

"i promise you, i can take care of myself." she purred. "silly furball."

stonestorm sighed. "you're my only sister, we share everything together. i can't bear to find you hurt while i'm away." he told violetberry about the prophecy and she was impressed.

violetberry purred. "what moonclan cats are there already, again?"

"as far as i know, sedgewhisper, sunhare, patchpaw, lightningpaw, and morningpaw." stonestorm replied. "you're friends with sunhare, right?"

violetberry looked longingly around the forest. "i just don't know how i would be a good asset. i was raised in these woods and they're all i've ever known," she sighed. "of course i'll join sunclan for you to stop worrying but i'm afraid i won't be able to help much."

stonestorm chuckled. "you're a fast learner, they would go over the basics with you. the clan loves sunhare. they've almost accepted her completely. you could be with her."

the red she-cat smiled. "tell me when to go and i will." she purred. "when do you even leave for your prophecy thing anyway?"

"they give me a message in my dreams when to leave. i'll take you there soon." the medicine cat replied. the _soon_ came sooner than he thought. suddenly he was waking violetberry in the warriors den to leave. they walked out together in the darkness.

"promise me you'll be safe? you don't need to sacrifice yourself for those cats. just stay safe, for me, please. you're my only brother." the warrior had tears in her eyes.

stonestorm nuzzled her before leaving with the rest of the group. "everything will be alright, i promise. you stay in sunclan and everything will work itself out." the medicine cat watched as she walked away into the darkness to the sunclan camp.

he looked at the group. "i'm stonestorm and i was a medicine cat in moonclan, what are your names?"

"i'm thymebriar, i was a queen in sunclan." thymebriar mewed.

"i'm sunnycreek, i was a warrior in sunclan." a light tabby she-cat mewed.

"i'm lightningpaw, i don't really know what clan i'm in because i was born in moonclan but then i started training in sunclan because sunhare was worried about morningpaw's safety." the golden tom spoke with a soft kit-like voice.

"my name is milkpaw and i was an apprentice in sunclan." the tortoiseshell tom said.

"my name is sedgewhisper and i was a queen in sunclan but i was also raised in moonclan," sedgewhisper purred to lightningpaw. "you're not alone."

stonestorm purred. "let's get going and follow the riverbed, willowstar spoke in my dream and told me to follow the riverbed. we must hurry, twigstar will want to know where i went and may track us down."

the patrol traveled a long distance away from the territories, stonestorm was in the lead. thymebriar followed along behind him, he felt her heart ache. _she left her kits behind, mouse brain._ stonestorm thought. sunnycreek and sedgewhisper padded close together and milkpaw and lightningpaw walked alongside each other silently. _no one is talking, we're all tired._ he thought to himself.

"let's stop here and rest." he mewed, there was a lukewarm pool of water near a crevice in the stone. "after this, it seems we're going to go in twoleg territory and we'll need our energy for that."

the cats laid down and rested until the sun came up. then they continued.


	10. Chapter 10

**allegiances ix  
** ☼ **_; sunclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
**deputy :** smokeheart - dark gray she-cat  
_apprentice_ : sandpaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
sleekfur - tortoiseshell she-cat with sleek fur and a graying muzzle  
skytail - sandy tom-cat  
yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
specklebush - dark gray she-cat  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : morningpaw  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of specklebush)  
_apprentice_ : stagpaw  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : petalpaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : webpaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
sunhare - golden she-cat (formerly of moonclan)  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
**apprentices** :  
sandpaw - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
morningpaw - silver she-cat (daughter of sunhare)  
stagpaw - dark gray tom-cat (son of _sedgewhisper_ )  
webpaw - dark tabby tom-cat (son of _sedgewhisper_ )  
petalpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (mother of slatestar's kits)  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat (mother of yewflight's kits)  
patchpaw - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of yarrowbird, formerly of moonclan)  
**kits** :  
cinderkit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
harekit - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
lilykit - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadkit - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
berrykit - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberkit - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelkit - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblekit - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaykit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishkit - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

☾ **_; moonclan  
_****leader** : twigstar - dark tabby tom-cat  
**deputy** : dewyfox - silvery tom-cat  
**medicine cat** : fawnwhisper - light tabby brown she-cat  
**warriors** :  
mossbreeze - long haired calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : lionpaw  
hawkice - redish tabby tom-cat  
flamefeather - red she-cat  
bubblingwater - silvery she-cat  
soot - dark tom-cat (former rogue)  
gorse - light tabby she-cat (former rogue)  
aspen - light speckled gray she-cat (former rogue)  
blizzard - long haired white tom-cat (former rogue)  
**apprentices** :  
lionpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of yarrowbird)  
**queens** :  
shrewclaw - black she-cat (mother of dovewhisker's kits)  
**kits** :  
cloudkit - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightkit - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitekit - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
**elders** :  
rubblefang - dark gray tom-cat  
runningthistle - white tom-cat with black patches and a gray muzzle  
yarrowbird - light brown she-cat with a silver muzzle  
dovewhisker - light gray tom-cat, stepped down from leadership because of dementia

 _; traveling cats  
_ sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush), formerly of sunclan  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn), formerly of sunclan  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze), formerly of sunclan  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of sunhare), formerly of moonclan  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat, formerly of moonclan  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ ), formerly of moonclan

☾

fawnwhisper woke up suddenly, her breaths coming in short gasps from the nightmare she had witnessed. the past moon had been incredibly rough for her, her mentor had died and his body disgraced in front of her, she had been attacked and her face was permanently scarred. her belly had blown up with kits from when twigstar thought he would have his way with her and another group of toms did as well. _this is it. i can't take this anymore._ she thought. _everything reminds me of everything that hurts. i can't stay here anymore._ she stood up and stretched and went out of the medicine den.

she felt twigstar's eyes on her and she looked at him, making eye contact. he sent shivers down her spine and she remembered he watched as she was held down and.. _i shouldn't think about it too much. once i leave everything will be alright._ she thought to herself. fawnwhisper began to walk out of camp and she never looked back. she followed the riverbed to the twoleg place. suddenly, she heard a twoleg shout and point at her, a stick with webs in its paw. she began to run but was caught by another one in its web. she thrashed around and cried for help but nothing happened. she was put in a small metal nest in a monster all alone. the monster drove and she felt the cages shake.

soon the monster stopped and she heard the screams of others as they were carried into the monster. she saw the light brown apprentice, lionpaw, become carried into the monster and set in the cage next to her. "f-fawnwhisper! what's happening? i'm so scared!" he whimpered. "i should've gone to sunclan with patchpaw.."

others from moonclan joined them. hawkice, blizzard, and aspen were put across from her where they spat in her face. "tried to run away and you get captured by a twoleg? pathetic!" he laughed. "luckily for me i know how to escape them."

fawnwhisper turned and faced the bright metal wall. mossbreeze, flamefeather, and bubblingwater were all added to the twoleg's collection. then some sunclan cats were brought in, fawnwhisper of course recognized them. smokeheart, sleekfur, skytail, specklebush, and sunhare were all among them. stagpaw joined them later. then the twolegs closed the doors of the monster and it began to shake again.

lionpaw whimpered and pressed himself close to fawnwhisper. "it'll be okay, lionpaw." she purred, kneading his pelt with her one paw that could reach through. the monster moved for a while before stopping, then the doors opened again and the twolegs began moving the cages out.

"fawnwhisper!" lionpaw cried as her cage was picked up and taken away inside. a different twoleg picked her cage up and took it into a room full of sharp things and a tiny sun. the twoleg opened fawnwhisper's cage and let her walk out. the medicine cat didn't want to come out, she was too afraid. the twoleg purred, trying to coax her out but she wouldn't budge. the twoleg poured some water in a bowl in front of the entrance and overcome by her thirst, she went out and drank the water.

the twoleg began inspecting her with all the sharp twoleg tools. then fawnwhisper was put back in the cage and put in a new room with some of the other cats. stagpaw was there, he looked worn out. "the elder's tales were right, the cutter is a terrible place!" he moaned. "my body hurts so badly!"

fawnwhisper felt afraid. _the cutter? but i'm having kits!_ she thought. _maybe they already know that._

soon more cages were stacked on top of hers and then a new monster came to pick them up. they were taken to the new place and put in newer comfier cages behind glass. it was filled with soft fur and kittypet pellets, plenty of water as well. _this isn't so bad, maybe some twolegs will pick me up and take me to their dens were i can stay._ she thought.

twolegs came and went, sometimes looking at her and mostly looking away at other cats. she watched clan cats were taken away, first lionpaw, then stagpaw, then specklebush, then sunhare, and the moonclan she-cats were taken together, but no one wanted fawnwhisper.

sunrises pass and she was awoken to a knocking on her window. _a twoleg kit!_ she thought. _maybe they will take me!_ there were two of them and one full grown twoleg. i guess she mothered them. she spoke into a small gray device and put it away to look at fawnwhisper. the mother shrugged and pointed to her. _i'm going!_ she thought as the twoleg reached its pink paw in to take her in another cage.

the monster was different this time, more lush and comfortable. fawnwhisper sat in between the twoleg kits while the mother almost seemed to control the monster. they were in the twoleg den before sundown.

she hopped out and explored the brightly colored den. it had levels and was soft everywhere, like one big nest. there were more kittypet pellets waiting for her in the place where they eat. the sky turned blue purple and the twolegs went to sleep while fawnwhisper crawled through a tiny door. "new, are you?" a soft voice asked.

a she-cat was sitting atop a high wooden wall. "yea, i'm fawnwhisper."

"a clan cat i see!" she chuckled. "i used to be a clan cat. i much prefer living separately from everyone."

"you have twolegs too?" fawnwhisper asked.

"owners? no, not anymore. i used to but she died. then i ran away." she purred. "i'm juniper, would you like to go on a stroll with me? your owners won't notice."

fawnwhisper hopped the wooden wall and followed her out near the thunderpath, the stony ground made her pads feel itchy. she was used to undergrowth. "what clan were you in, juniper?"

"i was in sunclan, then the river swept me away from my sister and brothers and i got captured by the snatchers. i went to the vet and got adopted pretty soon after that, i was a pretty cute kitten. i know how to stay away from the snatchers now and i rule the neighborhoods and their kittypets. it gets lonely at the top when everyone is afraid of you, you know? and getting food is hard as well because you can't hunt but i know a few kittypets who would let me have a nibble or two and a place to rest my head at night in their homes."

fawnwhisper nodded as she told her story. "i tried running away and now i am away.. i think i will enjoy being a kittypet."

"not when you have those kits," juniper giggled. "the twolegs make you give them away once they're old enough to stop needing milk."

her eyes widened. "you're lying! that's so cruel."

"twolegs don't like lots of cats. i know a barn they can live on not too far from here, it's nice when you're in the mood for mice because they have a ton there." juniper purred. "i got your back. i know you may not trust me, but i have your back."

eventually juniper turned a corner and fawnwhisper went back in her twoleg den. she curled up on a soft, plush piece of nest and fell asleep.

moons later, she found a place all the way upstairs to have her kits. it was no good to have no herbs with her to help with pain but she powered through and had three kits, two toms and a she-kit. she named the she-kit frost, the red tom fox, and the gray tom ebony. they were all wonderful and quiet. soon, they didn't need milk anymore and just as juniper promised, she came and picked them up in the middle of the night. fawnwhisper followed.

"fawnwhisper, where are we going?" ebony asked.

"we're going to a farm so i can visit you," fawnwhisper purred.

frost looked nervous. "i don't want to be separated from you!"

the queen shook her head. "only a few blocks apart. you'll be happier this way."

the moon was high in the sky when they finally reached the barn. "juniper will teach you how to catch mice, i must go back to the twolegs, they will get so mad at me!" she purred, nuzzling her kits goodbye. then she left again and went back to her twoleg den. she was there before sunrise and no one suspected her of escaping.

fawnwhisper lived a comfortable life with her twolegs but lost her connection with starclan. _this is the life i deserve._

☼

"birdpaw, listen. this cavern will save the clan for moons to come until the prophecy comes true. you must tell slatestar as quickly as possible!" birchshade told the medicine cat apprentice.

the apprentice nodded. "thank you birchshade." the ground faded around her and she was awake again in the starspring with her mentor.

"what has starclan shared with you?" russetfeather asked.

"birchshade told me a place we can go to hide from twolegs, which are coming to take us away." she told her mentor. "she showed me where it is and i want to use it immediately. i don't want a single cat taken away."

russetfeather purred. "you are very loyal! we will talk about it with slatestar and see what he decides."

slatestar did decide to use it and sent out the stronger cats to dig it out, but it wasn't necessary, seeing that there was a giant hole in the ground where the entrance was. birdpaw already knew the way around the tunnels because birchshade showed her and knew where to put the kits, elders, warriors, apprentices, and medicine den. she also knew there was a river inside they could use.

the clan started moving the kits in first. seedbreeze lead her own cinderkit and harekit into the new nursery but also all of the kits of her daughters. thymebriar had left her mate and kits behind and left the clan, birchshade was killed having her two kits. seedbreeze took care of them all and they were pawfuls.

"what if i don't want to go in the big, dark, gaping hole?" jaykit, thymebriar's daughter, asked seedbreeze.

"you will if you want to be safe. look, cinderkit is going in! there's no need to be afraid." seedbreeze mewed. the kit went inside and birdpaw watched as they settled down in the nests.

thistleberry followed with her two kits. patchpaw had one kit named doekit, but she was so small she got sick and died, not even ever opening her eyes. patchpaw was heartbroken and was to return to being an apprentice as soon as she stopped grieving.

the elders were moved in after that and then the apprentices and warriors. everyone was safe inside the tunnels where the rabbits now lived and they rarely needed to leave.

sunrises later some shouts and screaming were heard from moonclan and some warriors were sent out to make sure they were okay. birdpaw followed, tansy in her teeth. twolegs were there with big monsters and webs taking cats away. the moonclan cats screamed for help and sunclan cats began to run away, but the twolegs still caught a lot of them.

"i'll distract them, you run back to camp!" stagpaw shouted to her, running the opposite direction of the camp while she watched her father carried away in the web of a twoleg. soon, everything was quiet as the monster left with the warriors in its belly.

"let's do a headcount and see who's still here, alright?" slatestar said. some cats had escaped and those were out of breath. "kits and queens, is everyone with you?"

the queens looked at their kits and to each other. "yes, we're all here." they mewed.

"apprentices?" slatestar asked.

"we're missing stagpaw!" they said.

the leader sighed. "may starclan grant him a life of comfort," he meowed. "warriors?"

"sleekfur, skytail, specklebush, and sunhare." they said. "smokeheart too, but she's the deputy."

slatestar's eyes became glossy. "you all are dismissed, i will appoint a new deputy at sundown."

birdpaw felt her mother squeeze her against he pelt. "first milkpaw, then skytail. i won't ever let either of you out of my sight!" wrendawn meowed, nuzzling them.

many cats were upset at the losses. they had lost their family, friends, and clanmates. it was getting darker and slatestar came out, ready to name the new deputy. "i say these words before starclan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. the new deputy of sunclan is yewflight."

"yewflight! yewflight! yewflight!" the clan cheered.

thistleberry and her kits seemed to be the most proud of him. he nuzzled them affectionately. "i won't let you down!" yewflight said, his promise was met with cheers.

 _i won't let you down!_ his voice echoed in birdpaw's ears. _did i let them down?_

_ ; traveling cats _

"alright, let's get going quickly." stonestorm's voice said, stirring milkpaw from his sleep. the group were days out from the clans in the twoleg place where the dens were quiet and all looked the same. it was dizzying to milkpaw. some of the kittypets were violent and some just ignored them.

a dark tabby ran straight at them and jumped on sunnycreek. at first the warrior battled to rogue but soon recognized her. "juniperkit?"

"sunnykit?" the rogue giggled, nuzzling her.

the two she-cats purred. "you know each other?" thymebriar asked.

"she's my sister!" sunnycreek purred. "it's sunnycreek now, by the way."

the rogue chuckled. "well, my name is actually juniper now. i took off the kit part, it made me less intimidating." the two fell to the back while stonestorm lead the patrol. milkpaw listened into their conversation. "so, why are so far out from sunclan?"

"there's a prophecy that i'm in that we're going to save the clans!" sunnycreek mewed. "we don't really know what we're doing.."

"well, where are you off to?" juniper asked.

"we're supposed to meet the original clans, thunderclan, riverclan.. what were the other two?" sunnycreek was saying.

"shadowclan and windclan." sedgewhisper replied.

juniper nodded. "i know where they are but i can't take you there." she mewed. "i know some cats who could."

the group paused. "tell us how to get there." stonestorm mewed.

juniper purred. "let me lead you, only for my sister. first you go through the neighborhood, where we are. then you go to downtown and to the ocean side. you'll climb up to the hill a mile or so from there where katrina, one of my kittypet friends is. you'll climb on a boat all the way to when they hit land and another cat, harvey, will guide you to the other clans by the lake. i've been there, it's quite wonderful. they're pretty hostile though."

they began walking to downtown through the neighborhoods when night started to fall. "it's alright, i have a home you can stay in. you might even recognize her. fawnwhisper?" juniper called as she sat atop the fence.

the light tabby padded out. "juni- stonestorm?" her pelt raised. "what are you doing here?"

"we're finding a new territory for skyclan." he said calmly. milkpaw watched nervously. this was tense.

"we were wondering if you'd let them stay in your nest for the night." juniper mewed. "i know frost, fox, and ebony are in the attic, perhaps they could stay there?" juniper convinced her.

fawnwhisper sighed. "come with me," she flicked her tail. the group hopped over the fence and followed her into her twoleg den silently. she lead them upstairs and they climbed into the attic. "shh, kits." she purred, nuzzling three bundles in the corner. "you sleep over there." fawnwhisper mewed curtly.

"thanks so much, fawnnie!" juniper mewed, nuzzling her friend.

milkpaw laid down and fell asleep again.


	11. Chapter 11

**allegiances x  
** ☼ **_; sunclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : sandpaw  
**deputy :** yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : morningpaw  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : petalpaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : webpaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
**apprentices** :  
sandpaw - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
patchpaw - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
morningpaw - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
webpaw - dark tabby tom-cat (son of _sedgewhisper_ )  
petalpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat (mother of slatestar's kits)  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat (mother of yewflight's kits)  
**kits** :  
cinderkit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
harekit - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
lilykit - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadkit - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
berrykit - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberkit - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelkit - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblekit - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaykit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishkit - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

 _ **; rogues:**_ ** _  
_** twigstar - dark tabby tom-cat, former leader of moonclan  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former deputy of moonclan  
soot - dark tom-cat  
gorse - light tabby she-cat  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former queen of moonclan  
cloudkit - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightkit - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitekit - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)

 _ **; traveling cats**  
_ sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush), formerly of sunclan  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn), formerly of sunclan  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze), formerly of sunclan  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of sunhare), formerly of moonclan  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat, formerly of moonclan  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ ), formerly of moonclan

**chapter x**

☼

morningpaw yawned as she left the apprentice's den. there were new apprentice's to be added to the den and the day would be spent expanding it. morningpaw hated digging, it filled up her claws with dirt and only let her think about her losses. first, she was separated from her father, then, her brother left sunclan, finally, her mother had been captured as a kittypet. she had one friend, sandpaw, but she felt different about him. morningpaw couldn't tell if she felt attraction towards him or if they were just friends. _cats are so difficult to read._ she thought angrily.

the clan was still waking up, but sandpaw was sharing fresh kill with his sister, birdpaw. they made eye contact and sandpaw stood, nuzzling her. "hey morningpaw, how did you sleep?" he purred. morningpaw felt warm and fuzzy inside. _you totally like him!_ she thought to herself.

"i mean, as good as one can sleeping in a cave next to a river." she joked. sandpaw laughed and it felt good.

"come sit with me during the ceremony." he mewed. "birdpaw always sits with russetfeather and milkpaw used to sit with me.." he trailed off.

morningpaw's tail curled. "of course i'll sit with you, furball." she purred. _is he blushing?_

they settled down as slatestar called the clan to attention. seedbreeze's kits stumbled out of the nursery excitedly, thistleberry held the other kits back in the nursery. _finally, some positivity._ morningpaw thought.

the clan had gathered when slatestar began. "cinderkit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as cinderpaw. your mentor will be wrendawn. i hope wrendawn will pass down all she knows on to you. wrendawn **,** you are ready to take on an apprentice. you have received excellent training from skytail, and you have shown yourself to be kind and empathetic. you will be the mentor of cinderpaw, and i expect you to pass on all you know to cinderpaw."

"cinderpaw!" the clan cheered.

slatestar paused, eyes settling on his son. "harekit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as harepaw. your mentor will be yewflight. i hope yewflight will pass down all he knows on to you. yewflight **,** you are ready to take on an apprentice. you have received excellent training from sleekfur, and you have shown yourself to be passionate and ambitious. you will be the mentor of harepaw, and i expect you to pass on all you know to harepaw."

"harepaw!" they chanted his new name.

the mentors went out with their apprentices and flamebark came up to morningpaw from the nursery where his kits tried to follow, but thistleberry pulled them back. "what should we do first, perhaps a hunting patrol?" he mewed. slatestar greeted seedbreeze by nuzzling her. "slatestar looks like he may be a while."

since moonclan had split into rogues there was no need for a border patrol, so slatestar put that energy into exploring the tunnels. morningpaw hated it, she hated going down in pitch black where all she could smell is dirt. she much preferred hunting patrols. "outside or in the tunnels?"

"there will only be the three of us, so outside will be fine." flamebark answered.

they all walked outside and sniffed the air. _empty, as usual._ morningpaw thought. loud noises came from moonclan territory.

three cats stood in front of one of the monsters, snarling. one had kits. "twigstar! get away-" flamebark shouted from across the old border as the machine crushed his whole body. morningpaw recognized the last two cats as dewyfox and shrewclaw, shrewclaw's three kits were with her as well.

the cats jumped across. "oh, morningpaw! we've been looking for you!" dewyfox mewed, nuzzling her. "we looked in the old camp and no one had been there for moons-"

"i know." morningpaw mewed coldly, moving away from him.

dewyfox looked down. "i know i haven't been there for you, i just miss you and your brother and your mother.."

"you won't be happy to know i'm the only one left. lightningpaw left with a group of cats and sunhare was captured by twolegs." the apprentice explained, her voice cold.

flamebark flicked his tail. "let's just see what slatestar thinks of them, maybe he'd find sympathy for kits," he purred at the three fuzzy kits standing at the paws of shrewclaw. "let's go back."

the patrol made their way back. morningpaw didn't say a word to sandpaw, she was nervous she had scared him away. "hey, sorry about that.. some cats just really bring up my past and make me feel upset.." she apologized.

sandpaw purred. "it's no problem! i know how you feel." he nuzzled her affectionately.

morningpaw blushed and didn't say a word but she pressed her pelt to his side flirtatiously and he reciprocated the feeling. "we're both about to be made warriors soon, do you think that maybe once we get our warriors names we could be mates?" she asked.

the sandy tom smiled. "i'd love that."

the two walked closely side by side, purring. later that day morningpaw was going on patrol in the tunnels with webpaw, flamebark, and sparkwhisker. a soft rumble was heard while they were in the pitch darkness. "oh no," flamebark mewed. "run! run!"

morningpaw turned on her heels and pumped her legs to the small spot of light ahead in the entrance. she nosed the younger apprentice, webpaw, on ahead of her. he tripped and morningpaw helped him up while flamebark and sparkwhisker ran ahead of them. "come on, webpaw, come on!" she mewed, helping him up as they ran ahead together.

right as they were nearing the entrance webpaw tripped again and morningpaw didn't notice as she made it through before him.

they stopped to catch their breaths. "where's webpaw?" sparkwhisker asked.

morningpaw looked back. "he's under the dirt!" she mewed, noticing a small paw poking through the dirt. she began to dig and she pulled out his limp body. sparkwhisker picked him up by his scruff and ran to camp, flamebark and morningpaw following. they burst through and went straight to russetfeather.

she did his best to work on him, licking his nose to clear it from dirt and shoveling dirt out of his mouth. "he didn't make it." she mewed sadly.

morningpaw dipped her head. _i was trying to be a good warrior and save him,_ she thought. _i guess even good warriors can't save everyone._ lots of the camp was empty when webpaw was set out for vigil. petalpaw, his sister, was out training with sparrowtalon and when she returned to her brother dead she couldn't handle her tears. the clan was sad with her and mourned with her.

 _webpaw was so young,_ morningpaw thought that night. _that could've been me, i should use the life i have now to the best of my ability and make myself as happy as i can._ she curled up closer to sandpaw.

_; traveling cats_

sedgewhisper woke up in a twoleg's attic that morning, stretching. _i wonder how my kits are doing.._ she thought with a sigh. _i miss all 3 so much._

she glanced over to sunnycreek who was curled up with juniper and felt a flash of jealous go through her like lightning. sunnycreek had been so distant from her since she had petalpaw, stagpaw, and webpaw. it was as if she was avoiding sedgewhisper. the queen was glad when more moonclan cats followed her lead and joined sunclan as well, she missed her friends.

stonestorm was awake and looking out the window for a way down. monsters traveled past the den loudly. "let's wake them up and get going." he told her.

the dark tabby warrior stretched and poked lightningpaw and thymebriar with her two paws. both woke up milkpaw as well. thymebriar woke up sunnycreek and juniper. they all said goodbye to fawnwhisper and left the twoleg den. the patrol was lead by juniper in dark alleyways with rough and dirty twolegs and hostile cats.

a snarl was heard, making sedgewhisper jump. "forest kitties got lost a long way from home, eh?" some cat chuckled. a scruffy cat appeared from behind boxes of sweet smelling fruit, it was quite colorful contrasting to the alleyway they were in.

juniper purred. "why, hello, bear!" she mewed. "i was wondering if me and my friends could catch a ride on your fruit truck to the beach."

bear smiled mischievously. "what's in it for me? i don't offer free rides."

the rogue she-cat thought for a moment. "i'll get rid of your fleas for you." she offered.

bear smiled. "juniper, you've got yourself a deal, these ticks have really been bothering me. your friends can ride in the fruit truck. i want to see you in a week, no later."

juniper smiled. "sure thing! thanks bear!" she hopped on the back of a monster where more of the fruit sat in crates. "come in between the boxes, the twolegs won't even notice you're here." she purred, sunnycreek followed her and milkpaw and thymebriar followed sunnycreek. stonestorm went in behind thymebriar followed by lightningpaw and sedgewhisper lastly.

sedgewhisper sat on the edge and hid behind a box while a twoleg closed it up so the boxes wouldn't fall out. bear sat on the railing. "keep quiet, the truck will start soon. juniper rides this all the time, she already knows where to go so follow her. this may take an hour, close your eyes and rest if you must!" bear mewed, hopping down to the floor of the monster and sitting near the back.

the monster started with a roar but it quieted as it started to move. sedgewhisper watched as the monster went forward and felt drowsy. she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**allegiances xi  
** ☼ **_; skyclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
**deputy :** yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : harepaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : petalpaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
_apprentice_ : cinderpaw  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former rogue  
sandthistle - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
morningsun - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
patchpetal - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
**apprentices** :  
petalpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
cinderpaw - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
harepaw - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat (mother of yewflight's kits)  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former rogue queen  
**kits** :  
lilykit - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadkit - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
cloudkit - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightkit - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitekit - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
berrykit - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberkit - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelkit - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblekit - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaykit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishkit - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

 _ **; traveling cats**  
_ sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of specklebush)  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of sunhare)  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )

** chapter xi **

☼

lilykit kneaded the ground with her small white paws. today she was to become a warrior apprentice and she was excited and nervous. "toadkit, stop ruffling up your fur!" thistleberry scolded as he wrestled with the new rogue kits. lilykit had tried to become friends with cloudkit but cloudkit was dazy and unfocused, lilykit didn't feel like cloudkit heard her when she spoke.

"who do you hope you get as a mentor?" nightkit asked toadkit.

"morningsun for sure! she's so pretty!" toadkit giggled.

whitekit scoffed. "you think you have a chance with her? that's sandthistle's mate."

lilykit shook her head and tried to get her fur to lie flat but she was too anxious. "lilykit, toadkit, come here!" thistleberry called to the two kits.

"yes, mother?" lilykit squeaked.

"it's time!" thistleberry purred. thistleberry never let lilykit or toadkit attend clan meetings because she never thought they were old enough but that was going to change. lilykit sat in the front of the crowd of cats as slatestar called everyone to a clan meeting. lilykit knew the risks of being an apprentice, sunrises ago the tunnels closed in on an apprentice named webpaw. lilykit was afraid that would happen to her but she felt like she had seniority because she was the kit of the deputy.

slatestar cleared his throat while every cat quieted down. "lilykit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as lilypaw. your mentor will be morningsun. i hope morningsun will pass down all she knows on to you." lilypaw touched noses with the new young warrior. "morningsun **,** you are ready to take on an apprentice. you have received excellent training from sunnycreek and flamebark, and you have shown yourself to be brave and kind. you will be the mentor of lilypaw, and i expect you to pass on all you know to lilypaw."

the clan cheered her new name but morningsun glared over at a silver tom-cat. _dewyfox?_

"toadkit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as toadpaw. your mentor will be sparkwhisker. i hope sparkwhisker will pass down all he knows on to you." lilypaw watched her brother touch noses with his new mentor. "webpaw will walk amongst you, toadpaw, as you complete your training in his honor."

"toadpaw! lilypaw! toadpaw! lilypaw!" the clan cheered.

lilypaw felt bashful until the clan died down. "let's get out of here, quickly. we can do battle practice first today." morningsun mewed, her eyes focused on dewyfox again.

they began walking together in the tunnels. "do you not like dewyfox?"

"not particularly." morningsun answered curtly.

unsatisfied with the answer, lilypaw pressed. "why not?"

"he didn't care for my safety when i was in moonclan, when you were nothing but a tiny kit growing in your mother." the warrior answered.

lilypaw nodded and sighed. "that's a good answer." she mewed.

the day went on and they finished battle training quickly. it was evening when lilypaw was sharing about her day with her brother. he learned how to walk in the tunnels. she was a little jealous.

a couple of terrified mews were heard from the entrance to the camp and a couple of cats came through the entrance. "slatestar! there are twolegs on our old territory!" sneezethorn mewed, fright apparent in his voice.

the leader came out of his den to look. lilypaw's heart raced. she went into the apprentice's den and laid down, trying to block out the sound of startled cats. her father was on duty and her mother came into the den. "hey, lilypaw," she nuzzled her daughter. "slatestar is going to work things out, don't you worry." she purred.

eventually, the twolegs left and every cat went to their dens but they knew to keep better watch.

days went by until they had a visitor. "fawnwhisper!" russetfeather mewed one afternoon, waking lilypaw from her afternoon snooze. "i had missed you so very much."

"word spreads fast that the twolegs were being a bother. i knew i couldn't stand by and let you all get hurt. i know a place for you to go, a safe place." fawnwhisper mewed. "where is slatestar?"

the skyclan medicine cat called for him and he walked out. "it's quite the pleasure to see you here. what do you need?" the two disappeared into his den as they talked. lilypaw watched as they came back out, smiling to each other. "i will tell the clan, must you stay the night? should we leave tonight?"

"as soon as possible, my twolegs spoke about digging up this whole moor and turning it into more houses- twoleg dens." fawnwhisper stumbled on her words. "you'll find living on a barn is easier living than in tunnels and will provide you enough time before the prophecy comes true and the patrol returns."

the leader nodded. "how is kittypet life?"

fawnwhisper purred. "it's extremely comfortable. i have three kits now, once they're old enough my friend is taking them to live on your barn."

lilypaw didn't answer and waited until the clan had settled in at the end of the day. slatestar began to make his announcement. "all cats come to the camp for a clan meeting!" the leader called. lilypaw watched as the kits crept around the queens and sat at their paws. lilypaw sat near toadpaw and cinderpaw with all the other apprentices.

"some of the warriors have noticed that the twolegs work has grown from moonclan territory to the moor. a former clan cat and friend, fawnwhisper, has offered us a place to stay until we can find our new home. we must leave now, we don't know when the twolegs will strike again and if they will find us so we need to leave tonight. we need an order to go in, yewflight has the order." slatestar dipped his head to his deputy.

lilypaw watched as her father padded into the center and she strained to hear him. "what are two important things we have right now? our medicine and our kits. i want all the apprentices to go to the medicine den and pick up what herbs they can carry. i want patchpetal, morningsun, and sandthistle to help with our kits and queens to defend them and make sure no one gets left behind. flamebark, wrendawn, and dewyfox will go ahead of the patrol with slatestar and i. sneezethorn, sparrowtalon, sparkwhisker, and violetberry will be the tail and will make sure every cat is accounted for. go quickly, fawnwhisper says monsters and twolegs sleep at night but rogues and hostile kittypets do not."

the apprentices took the bundles of herbs in their jaws and prepared themselves near the entrance of the den. queens and kits were next to them as well as stumpyfoot, the old elder. the cats leading the patrol began to walk on. lilypaw liked the moor, it always held a soft wind that she never felt while on the sticky muddy tunnels.

soon, when the sun started to turn the sky a light pink, the clan cats finally made it to the den they were to stay in. it was bright red and quite empty. old monsters that looked like they hadn't been alive for moons were there. lilypaw set the herbs down where russetfeather told her to. then she could explore this new den. it was made of cut trees and smelled of mouse. there were lots of materials for making soft nests and she was excited.

some cats were on the top. "we'll put the kits and queens up here, apprentices, elders, and medicine cat stuff here too." slatestar ordered. lilypaw climbed up to it and looked around. it was concealed here and darker. there wasn't any hay, but that was soon to change.

"lilypaw!" morningsun called her. "let's make nests for the cats sleeping up there out of this hay, alright?"

the calico apprentice worked very hard, climbing up and down building the nests. she finished the whole nursery and all the queens and kits could settle down and rest their paws. she was rewarded by being able to sleep in her own nest. _we're safe now,_ lilypaw thought. _right?_

_; traveling cats_

lightningpaw awoke to the paw of milkpaw shaking him awake. the two had grown closer while traveling and lightningpaw was grateful, he had admitted to himself that he felt something for the tom-cat, but lightningpaw couldn't tell milkpaw that. tom-cats usually only liked she-cats, but it wasn't how he felt. "get up, snoring fur ball." milkpaw laughed.

the apprentice stood and stretched, hopping out of the back of the monster. "i wasn't really snoring, right?" lightningpaw asked. he worried that he embarrassed himself in front of milkpaw.

the tortoiseshell snorted. "maybe a little.." lightningpaw blushed. _stupid. just a humiliation._ he told himself.

soon the whole patrol was out of the monster. juniper hopped out. "this is how far i can take you. you'll want to follow the railing up the beach and to the houses. there's a light blue house that katrina lives in. tell her i sent you and she will help you get onto the ferry across the ocean a little ways where you'll meet harvey. he'll take you to the clan cats one way or another." she mewed. "goodbye sunnycreek, i hope i see you again soon." the rogue nuzzled her sister and left the group as bear's fruit monster sped away.

stonestorm lead the patrol again along the beach side. the blue water sparkled in the sunset and made lightningpaw feel relaxed, except milkpaw was walking close by to him. the apprentice felt self conscious. "there's the blue house!" sedgewhisper sighed. "we made it."

"katrina?" sunnycreek called.

a silver tabby she-cat with a white chest, belly, and paws leaped to the top of the fence. "who are you and how do you know my name?" she frowned.

"juniper said you could help us get across the ocean." sunnycreek replied.

katrina smiled. "oh, juniper! why didn't you just say so? come in and have something to eat, you look absolutely starved."

the patrol went inside the den and lightningpaw saw the platter of crushed fish. his mouth watered. "can i have some of that?" he asked.

the kittypet purred. "of course, as much as you want."

the cats dug in and ate all of it. katrina let them sleep in the kittypet nest as well. lightningpaw was happy.


	13. Chapter 13

**allegiances xii  
** ☼ **_; skyclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
**deputy :** yewflight - light brown tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : harepaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tiny tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : petalpaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : toadpaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
_apprentice_ : cinderpaw  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former rogue  
sandthistle - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
morningsun - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
_apprentice_ : lilypaw  
patchpetal - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
**apprentices** :  
petalpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
cinderpaw - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
harepaw - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
lilypaw - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former rogue queen  
**kits** :  
cloudkit - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightkit - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitekit - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
berrykit - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberkit - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelkit - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblekit - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaykit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishkit - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

 _ **; traveling cats**  
_ sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of _specklebush_ )  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of _sunhare_ )  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )

**chapter xii**

_; traveling cats_

stonestorm stretched as he woke up in a kittypet den, the sound of soft waves crashed against the shore. the patrol was curled up tightly with each other, lightningpaw and milkpaw were curled up and sedgewhisper and sunnycreek were also curled up. thymebriar slept alone and so did stonestorm. everyone knew that sunnycreek and sedgewhisper were in love with each other, perhaps milkpaw and lightningpaw had fallen in love too.

the former medicine had eaten some more of the soft kittypet food quietly when he heard a voice behind him. "what's it like being a clan cat?" katrina's voice mewed from behind him on the counter, startling stonestorm.

"it's pretty hard, lots of cats aren't up for the job and they often run away." stonestorm replied, trying not to meet her gaze. katrina made something inside him stir, a feeling he had not had in a great while. _was this love?_ he thought anxiously.

katrina looked emptily in the distance. "why do you want on this boat so bad?"

"my clan is in danger, the river is dried up. we're supposed to find the original four clans and move in with them. i received the prophecy from my warrior ancestors to find the others. they had to find each other too." stonestorm answered. "we'll have to find a boat to ride on when it's time for them to travel with us." he sighed.

katrina's eyes lit up. "you can go on mine! i was just wondering if i'd could come too.. being a kittypet with owners who can buy me anything i want is nice but they're never home. no one is ever home and the neighbors don't have cats either. i'm so alone.. could i join your clan?"

stonestorm purred. "we'd have to talk to our leader, but we could probably work something out."

she smiled and stretched. "we have time before it's time to go, perhaps you would like to hang out with me?"

the tabby chuckled. "that'd be great."

hours pass and katrina helped stonestorm wake up the patrol to go on the ship. katrina wasn't going with them. "you'll meet with harvey on the other side, he's my old friend. tell him you come from juniper and i." she was talking off the ear of sunnycreek while the cats padded along the boardwalk. everyone boarded the ship and stonestorm went last. "be safe and come back for me." katrina whispered as he left.

the ship started with a blow and it took off from the land. stonestorm watched as katrina's lithe, silver tabby body became a small speck and disappeared altogether. the patrol had decided to explore the boat. there was an abundance of prey in some areas and in others none at all. there were tall boxes full of shipment. the ship glided through the water quickly but it felt like everything was in the same place for the rest of the day.

sedgewhisper had found a spot too small for twolegs to fit through but big enough for the other cats to sleep close together. it was so cold on the ship, the patrol took turns on who could sleep on the inside of all the cats and of course who would keep an eye on things and wake the others when trouble appeared.

days went on but they felt like moons. stonestorm was always exhausted, sometimes he would dig through the things the twolegs gave away so he could eat them. sometimes there was meat and other times there was nothing.

soon after several days, the clan cats made it to the other side. they raced out and met the black and white patchy tom-cat. "are you harvey?" milkpaw asked.

"yes, i am." he replied as he met them on the boardwalk.

"juniper and katrina sent us." lightningpaw meowed.

harvey's whiskers twitched. "well, let's get going. the clans have been expecting you."

☼

morningsun practiced hunting crouches with lilypaw one morning when a couple of kittypets walked through the barn doors. morningsun's neck fur raised up as she stepped in front of her apprentice. _she doesn't know fighting moves yet!_

"we know you're clan cats," the leader of the kittypets snarled. his clean fur and fat belly did not intimidate morningsun or the rest of the clan. "we, as a neighborhood clan you could say, would really appreciate it if you could live in some other barn."

the warrior heard stop laughter from behind her as slatestar entered. "you think we're going to leave as easily as that?"

"well i was hoping you'd be mindful for our safety!" the kittypet mewed.

slatestar got closer to the kittypets, morningsun noticed some warriors slinking in the shadows in case they needed to chase the kittypets away. "just you wait, we'll be out of your fur in no time. the prophecy will come true and we'll be with the other clans. until then, you must leave us alone." he snarled.

the kittypet frowned. "the rogues laugh at you for believing that dead cats look down on you and will you, you know. that patrol that you say starclan is leading probably did what's best and ran away. you're all starving and you're abandoned. you have no warrior ancestors. your prophecy will never be true."

the leader smiled. "you'll regret saying that," he spoke gently. "skyclan, attack!"

morningsun picked up lilypaw by the scruff of her neck and carried her up near the nursery so she would be safe. morningsun guard the kits in case the kittypets would climb up to get them. "you'll remember this battle, slatestar!" the lead kittypet hissed, limping away. "next time we come back we'll kill you. you and your whole clan!"

a few sunrises later morningsun was having a medical problem, one she had not experienced before. it was like gentle butterflies fluttering in her stomach and she wanted to know what the problem was with them. she was speaking with birdpaw. "i'm having these butterflies in my stomach and it's not because i'm nervous or anything.. they weren't there before."

the tortoiseshell frowned. "sometimes queens experience that feeling when the kits they are expecting move, have you been mating recently?"

morningsun blushed. "y-yea.." she couldn't tell birdpaw it was with sandthistle, her brother.

she smiled. "then that's what happened. russetfeather is trying out ways in case queens want to get rid of their kits before their born so if you're interested in that i would talk to her. otherwise you're going to be a mother. who's the father, if you mind me asking?"

the silver warrior looked at her paws. "your brother." she sighed.

birdpaw's face dropped for a second. "oh- well- congratulations." she mewed.

morningsun snorted. "yea, i should go tell him," she mewed. the warrior left the medicine den and went to find sandthistle. "i need to talk to you." she whispered in his ear as he guarded the entrance. the two cats went outside the barn.

"what is it, darling?" he mewed, his eyes soft.

the silver warrior chuckled, knowing she shouldn't be afraid to tell him. "i'm having your kits!"

sandthistle's eyes went hard. "no.. you have to get rid of them. birdpaw told me that the medicine cats were creating new ways to abort kits and i want you to try."

morningsun hissed. "it's my body and my choice, i can decide whether to have them or not."

the sandy tom snarled. "you want to raise kits in a barn or when we're traveling to meet four clans who might not even exist?"

morningsun's eyes felt teary. "i want to have kits and this is our opportunity. i won't be young forever."

"you really are a mouse brained moonclan cat at heart," he spat. "this is over. i don't want to be your mate anymore. have fun raising those kits on your own. i don't want any part in their lives." sandthistle walked away and sat guard.

the queen sat thinking about what just happened. she had lost her mate and was going to have kits on her own.

_you're alone. lightningpaw is probably dead. sunhare is a kittypet. dewyfox doesn't love you. sandthistle will never love you._


	14. Chapter 14

**allegiances xiii  
****_; skyclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
**deputy :** yewflight - lithe light brown tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : harepaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tortoiseshell she-cat with short legs (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : petalpaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : toadpaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
_apprentice_ : cinderpaw  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former rogue  
sandthistle - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
morningsun - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
_apprentice_ : lilypaw  
patchpetal - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
**apprentices** :  
petalpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
cinderpaw - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
harepaw - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
lilypaw - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former rogue queen  
**kits** :  
cloudkit - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightkit - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitekit - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
berrykit - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberkit - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelkit - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblekit - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaykit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishkit - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

 _ **; thunderclan**_  
**leader** : squirrelstar - dark red tom-cat  
**deputy** : graycloud - gray tabby she-cat  
**medicine cat** : iceheart - white tom-cat

 _ **; windclan**_  
**leader** : smokestar - black tom-cat  
**deputy** : applepelt - long haired calico she-cat  
**medicine cat** : tawnyfoot - sandy she-cat

 _ **; riverclan**_  
**leader** : honeystar - tortoiseshell she-cat  
**deputy** : shelltail - white tom-cat with black patches  
**medicine cat** : cedarleaf - dark red tabby she-cat

 _ **; shadowclan**_  
**leader** : jackdawstar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : cherryheart - silvery she-cat  
**medicine cat** : buzzardstripe - dark silver tom-cat

 _ **; traveling cats**  
_ sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of _specklebush_ )  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of _sunhare_ )  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )

**chapter xiii**

_traveling cats ;_

the journey was perilous and dangerous as the patrol followed the tom cat throughout the twolegplace. "we'll be going through mountains, there's a cave we can stay in where a tribe once was. they died off many moons ago, before my time." harvey casually said. thymebriar felt numb as they continued the journey. she missed her mother and brothers. she missed her sister and father. she missed her kits and sneezethorn. _i hope they're doing okay,_ she thought with a sigh.

the group traveled for more days before they got to the snowy mountains where they stayed the night. the she-cat closed her eyes and fell asleep only to wake up in the cave again. this time it was just talonwhisker with her.

"father?" she meowed, nuzzling him. "i missed you!"

talonwhisker purred deeply. "you're almost finished with your journey. we've spoken to the medicine cats of the other clans and they are discussing your arrival. "

"how are the clan cats?" thymebriar asked eagerly.

"i do not walk those skies, i walk with you." he sighed. "birchshade is watching over all the kits as well as your brothers and seedbreeze."

the next time she blinked she was watching the sunlight drag through the cave system. all the other cats were awake already. "my father visited me in a dream," she told the group as they were getting ready to go. "he told the medicine cats that we were coming."

harvey lead them to a small forest with the lake nearby, the full moon was high in the sky. _what if they're having a gathering?_ they walked along the beach to a small island where the sounds of cats speaking were chorusing together. a few scents wafted together that thymebriar didn't recognize. they walked along a log to get to the island where the gathering stopped completely.

"harvey?" a tortoiseshell she-cat mewed. "what are you doing here?"

"just as the warrior ancestors intended me to do, honeystar." harvey purred. "has cedarleaf spoken to you about the prophecy?"

honeystar blushed. "why, yes, but, i didn't think it was come true so soon." she mewed.

a murmur of confusion fell across the cats and thymebriar felt self conscious. "skyclan have returned to the clans." stonestorm mewed bravely, marching to the front of the patrol to stand with harvey.

a dark red tom scoffed. "there's no room for you all here unless you only brought six cats."

"surely that can't be all of them, where are the rest of your clan hiding?" a black tom followed up. "is this your leader?" he flicked his tail to stonestorm.

stonestorm dipped his head. "i am stonestorm, medicine cat of skyclan. we come to ask for your help. twolegs are tearing up our territory, as a few of you many remember from generations ago when the four clans had to move to safety for the same exact reason." he mewed graciously.

the black tom frowned. "there is only room for four clans here. windclan will not make accommodations for a clan who wasn't supposed to be here in the first place."

"neither will thunderclan." the dark red tom cat spat.

"shadowclan cannot afford to house foreigners, it is against the warrior code." a light gray tom-cat hissed from around the way.

honeystar looked down at the patrol, thinking. _please take us in.._ thymebriar prayed. "you've made such a long journey and may sleep in riverclan camp, i would like to follow up with you when you bring your clan back. i believe this gathering is dismissed, i have guests to tend for." honeystar mewed, signaling for her clan to leave the gathering place. harvey left before them and the skyclan cats were all alone for now.

as they walked back to camp honeystar invited the cats into her den. "tell me what skyclan needs and i will provide it."

☼ ; morningsun

anger ebbed through morningsun's paws as she watched sandthistle and patchpetal together. patchpetal had liked sandthistle since they were apprentices, sandthistle never seemed to like patchpetal because he thought it was weird she had held back her training to have kits. they seemed to get along now. a soft stir was felt in her belly. _my kits will be fine without a father,_ she thought to herself.

her heart yearned to love and be loved by some cat but it wouldn't be the case. every cat in the clan had mates. slatestar had seedbreeze, yewflight had thistleberry, flamebark had birchshade until she died but he was much older than morningsun, sneezethorn had thymebriar, sparrowtalon had petalpaw, sparkwhisker was too old, which left her to herself. _you won't be alone when the kits come._

morningsun always liked kits. they always relied on you so heavily and loved their mothers unconditionally. it was special and morningsun couldn't wait to see it.

it was finally time for a border patrol where slatestar would send out warriors and apprentices to explore around the barn and stretch their legs so they wouldn't become fat kittypets. sneezethorn lead this patrol with flamebark, sandthistle, patchpetal, and lilypaw. sandthistle and patchpetal walked with their tails twined together. flamebark and sneezethorn were up ahead discussing the best way to hunt.

"lilypaw, may i tell you something important?" morningsun asked her apprentice, falling behind from the patrol slightly.

the calico frowned and nodded. "what's up, morningsun?"

morningsun smiled. "i'm having kits and they'll probably be here before your apprenticeship is over. we should start looking at other mentors to mentor you when i need to move to the nursery. i would say the only ones off limits are the ones who already have apprentices now."

her eyes lit up mischeviously. "even _sandthistle_?" she winked.

the silver warrior chuckled sadly. "if you ask and he accepts," she sighed. "but you have other options as well, and we have lots of time before it's time to move into the nursery."

lilypaw nodded. "are they sandthistle's kits?" her eyes flicked over to the tom-cat speaking with patchpetal in soft murmurs.

morningsun sighed and confirmed it. "he's their father but he won't be in their lives."

the apprentice frowned. "i will be in their lives. i will be the best big sister ever. i don't have any sisters, just toadpaw. all he does is talk about she-cats with harepaw, nightkit, and whitekit. it's annoying. i want to have better siblings."

the queen purred. "focus on your training, fur ball. i wouldn't mind if you caught us something to eat every now and then." she swiped her ear affectionately.

the patrol ended with morningsun racing lilypaw back to the barn, but lilypaw was lithe and quickly as she grew bigger and lost the qualities that made her a kit. her body resembled her fathers but her pelt resembled her mothers. she would be beautiful someday.

_i hope my kits will be as beautiful and kindhearted as she is._

☼ ; sparkwhisker

"all my kits will have kits once you have kits," seedbreeze purred while sharing tongues with sparkwhisker. "birchshade had kits with flamebark- starclan rest her soul, thymebriar had kits with sneezethorn- she'll come back, don't worry. i know her- sparrowtalon and petalpaw are getting extremely close, your brother talks about her a lot and talks about her having his kits and i would say she agrees, now.. all we need is you to have kits and the litter will be plentiful."

 _does she ever shut up?_ sparkwhisker thought with a growl. "shouldn't you be worrying about cinderpaw and harepaw? you know, your other kits?"

the queen purred. "they're apprentices. i have a feeling i know what kinds of feelings are being tossed around in that apprentices den. young cats testing out the waters and trying things out.. i know my kits. we share tongues very often. more often than you." seedbreeze smirked slyly.

the dark gray cat rolled his eyes. "what if i'm not interested in having a mate or kits? times are tough and i need to focus on my clan."

seedbreeze snorted. "times are tough? now would be the perfect time to start a family. say the patrol is gone for several more moons. you find a mate have some kits, they're apprentices and then they come back and then you leave."

sparkwhisker rolled his eyes. "there's no one i'm interested in."

"what about violetberry? her mother is dead, her father was taken by twolegs, and her brother is gone on the patrol with your sister. this sounds like a good situation for both of you." seedbreeze urged.

the warrior sighed. "i really don't need to." he insisted.

the queen rolled her eyes and walked over to violetberry. sparkwhisker watched as they exchanged some words and her eyes looked over to him. she smiled and chuckled, following seedbreeze back. "hey sparkwhisker, would you like to go out on the territory with me?"

sparkwhisker's eyes flicked to seedbreeze and back to violetberry. "sure." he mumbled, getting up and walking out with the pretty she-cat.

_what did i get myself into?_


	15. Chapter 15

**allegiances xiv  
****_; skyclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : lilypaw  
**deputy :** yewflight - lithe light brown tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : harepaw  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tortoiseshell she-cat with short legs (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former rogue  
_apprentice_ : whitepaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
_apprentice_ : cinderpaw  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : cloudpaw  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former rogue  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : toadpaw  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ )  
sandthistle - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
_apprentice_ : nightpaw  
patchpetal - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
petalwhisper - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
**apprentices** :  
cinderpaw - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
harepaw - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
lilypaw - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
cloudpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightpaw - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitepaw - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
morningsun - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
**kits** :  
berrykit - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberkit - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelkit - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblekit - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaykit - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishkit - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

 _ **; thunderclan**_  
**leader** : squirrelstar - dark red tom-cat  
**deputy** : graycloud - gray tabby she-cat  
**medicine cat** : iceheart - white tom-cat

 _ **; windclan**_  
**leader** : smokestar - black tom-cat  
**deputy** : applepelt - long haired calico she-cat  
**medicine cat** : tawnyfoot - sandy she-cat

 _ **; riverclan**_  
**leader** : honeystar - tortoiseshell she-cat  
**deputy** : shelltail - white tom-cat with black patches  
**medicine cat** : cedarleaf - dark red tabby she-cat  
 **warriors** :  
cypressleaf - long haired gray she-cat  
heatherheart - stocky light brown tom-cat

 _ **; shadowclan**_  
**leader** : jackdawstar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : cherryheart - silvery she-cat  
**medicine cat** : buzzardstripe - dark silver tom-cat

 _ **; traveling cats**  
_ sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of _specklebush_ )  
milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of _sunhare_ )  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )

**chapter xiv**

_traveling cats ;_

"you should leave tomorrow morning when it's still dark so it will be lighter while you walk. would you like to take some warriors with you to help your clan?" honeystar mewed while they were still meeting after the gathering. "riverclan has some of the strongest and bravest warriors in all the clans."

lightningpaw looked to the older warriors for their choice. he didn't really know what to do or say.

stonestorm nodded. "i think having a few extra warriors would be a good thing to have." he mewed.

honeystar smiled. "you may have cypressleaf, a brave and empathetic warrior, and heatherheart, a strong and loyal tom. in exhange you will have to leave one of your warriors behind here to learn how clans work around the lake."

the patrol looked at the apprentices. "we will leave milkpaw behind." thymebriar mewed.

milkpaw looked around frantically. "you all can't agree on that, can you? i need to see my family!"

sunnycreek purred. "you'll see them soon, we swear."

the group dispersed and fell asleep, only to be woken up while it was still dark. lightningpaw was curled up with milkpaw. the medicine cat held traveling herbs for the leaving cats to eat while honeystar stood next to two daunting warriors. milkpaw watched sadly as the patrol got ready to leave. he nuzzled the tortoiseshell affectionately. they didn't need to hide the fact that they were mates. "i'll make sure sandpaw and birdpaw know you're alright. wrendawn and skytail too." he purred.

milkpaw nuzzled him back. "tell morningpaw i say hello as well."

lightningpaw purred. "of course i will. i'll be back before you know it."

the patrol set off back where they came from, lightningpaw was awkwardly silent around everyone because the only cat he talked to was milkpaw. "i just wanted to say that you and milkpaw are really cute mates." sedgewhisper mewed. "it's really nice to see two tom-cats together. me and sunnycreek are mates too, so we're two she-cats together."

lightningpaw grinned. "i like him a lot and he likes me, i just don't know how dewyfox and sunhare will think. dewyfox is still in moonclan though so i'm not worried."

sunnycreek purred. "what can they do? you're a grown cat now, warrior age. you can make your own decisions now. it doesn't matter what they think."

"you're right." he mewed to the she-cats.

the patrol walked along quietly to the water but it took days to get from the clans to the dock where harvey waited and pointed them to the ship they were to ride. lightningpaw followed near the end of the patrol with the riverclan cats and watched the land float away from the ship until he couldn't see it any longer.

 _i will come back for you, milkpaw!_ his promise rang in his head.

☼

morningsun was in the nursery quite quickly. lilypaw had been gracious and didn't ask sandthistle to be her mentor, rather slatestar, who accepted. the two got along well, morningsun noticed. lilypaw checked on her old mentor everyday to see how she was doing which made morningsun feel included. her stomach swelled and she was without a doubt expecting kits.

birdpaw checked on morningsun everyday, despite sandthistle's separation from his kit's lives she wanted to make sure that they would be okay and healthy. they were her family, after all.

it hit her when they decided to come earlier than the medicine cats had predicted.

pain shot through her, radiating from her stomach to her body. the ringing in her ears made it impossible for her to hear the sounds of the medicine cat's orders but her body pushed through for her and acted naturally to give birth to three new kits, one she-cat and two tom-cats. she awoke from her haze to see them and have herbs pushed down her throat.

a silver tabby tom-cat, a sandy brown tom-cat, and a tortoiseshell she-cat all suckled near her. a few peeked inside the nursery to see them. morningsun saw sandthistle with patchpetal outside, his eyes wide and curious. _he doesn't even deserve for them to know him as their father. their hearts will be broken._

later in the day dewyfox came to visit, which was odd because morningsun didn't talk with him so much anymore. "i just came to see my grand-kits, hopefully that's fine with you." his big rumbling purr reminded her of when she was a kit, when everything in moonclan was carefree and she was still around her mother and brother and dewyfox hadn't been made deputy yet, a stressful job.

"it's perfectly fine with me," morningsun replied with a purr. the kits slept quietly. they were wonderful and beautiful.

dewyfox laid with her. "have you decided on names yet?"

the queen smiled. "i think i want to name the sandy tom-cat sunkit, after sunhare." she mewed. "i'm thinking the silver kit would be called rainkit. i always liked that name."

"sunkit and rainkit, those are fierce names. what about this she-kit? she's going to win all the tom's hearts one day, i feel it in my old bones!" dewyfox laughed.

morningsun shook her head. "i can't think of any." she chuckled.

"where's their father? he should be here helping you. you shouldn't have to name them alone." the warrior huffed.

the silver queen shook her head. "he didn't want me to have them at all and got a new mate when i told him." she sighed.

dewyfox's neck fur raised. "who? i'll skin him like the flithy rat he is-"

"-shh, you'll wake up the kits." morningsun interuppted. "it's sandthistle, but promise you won't do anything that could get you kicked out of the clan? please?"

a period of silence passed between them and only the murmuring of clan life in the barn could be heard. the smallest snore could be heard from rainkit as he laid in between his brother and sister. morningsun thought about how she would listen to him snore for moons and she would eventually get used to it and smiled. "oriolekit." dewyfox muttered. "that's what you should name her."

"oriole? what is an oriole?" morningsun scoffed.

"it's a beautiful type of bird i used to find in the forest, they were quite tasty too." dewyfox laughed. "a beautiful name for a beautiful kit."

another period of silence passed between them. "thank you, dewyfox."

"anything for my daughter." dewyfox mewed. "and now my granddaughter as well."

he left them alone and morningsun reflected on her kits. _oriolekit, sunkit, and rainkit. they're perfect._


	16. Chapter 16

**allegiances xv  
****_; skyclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : lilypaw  
**deputy :** yewflight - lithe light brown tom-cat  
**medicine cat :** russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tortoiseshell she-cat with short legs (daughter of wrendawn)  
**warriors** :  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former rogue  
_apprentice_ : whitepaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
_apprentice_ : fishpaw  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : berrypaw  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : cloudpaw  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former rogue  
_apprentice_ : hazelpaw  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
_apprentice_ : emberpaw  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : pebblepaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : toadpaw  
sandthistle - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
_apprentice_ : nightpaw  
patchpetal - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
_apprentice_ : jaypaw  
petalwhisper - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
cindernight - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
hareleap - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**apprentices** :  
lilypaw - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
cloudpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightpaw - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitepaw - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
berrypaw - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberpaw - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelpaw - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblepaw - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaypaw - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishpaw - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
morningsun - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ ) (expecting sparkwhisker's kits)  
**kits** :  
sunkit - sandy brown tom-cat (son of morningsun)  
rainkit - silver tom-cat (son of morningsun)  
oriolekit - tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of morningsun)  
**elders** :  
stumpyfoot - light brown tom-cat who is missing a foot, blind in one eye from battle

 _ **; thunderclan**_  
**leader** : squirrelstar - dark red tom-cat  
**deputy** : graycloud - gray tabby she-cat  
**medicine cat** : iceheart - white tom-cat

 _ **; windclan**_  
**leader** : smokestar - black tom-cat  
**deputy** : applepelt - long haired calico she-cat  
**medicine cat** : tawnyfoot - sandy she-cat

 _ **; riverclan**_  
**leader** : honeystar - tortoiseshell she-cat  
**deputy** : shelltail - white tom-cat with black patches  
**medicine cat** : cedarleaf - dark red tabby she-cat  
**visitor** : milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)

 _ **; shadowclan**_  
**leader** : jackdawstar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : cherryheart - silvery she-cat  
**medicine cat** : buzzardstripe - dark silver tom-cat

 _ **; traveling cats**  
_ sunnycreek - light tabby she-cat (daughter of _specklebush_ )  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
lightningpaw - golden tom-cat (son of _sunhare_ )  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
cypressleaf - long haired gray she-cat, riverclan cat  
heatherheart - stocky light brown tom-cat, riverclan cat

** chapter xv **

_ ; lightningpaw _

the thunder and lighting in the water crashed and frightened lightingpaw. his fur was slicked back by the rain. his heart pounded in his ears out of terror and his body shivered from the cold. no one had warned the patrol that this would happen. twolegs scurried around to fix everything. the cats were all closed in a smaller, drier space, but the rain echoed off the tin.

"was it like this when you first came here?" cypressleaf shouted.

"no, it was more peaceful and good!" stonestorm shouted back. "i wasn't expecting this to happen!"

lightningpaw sighed. "i need to make dirt!" he yelled, he felt weird about saying it, but the group had agreed not to let any cat go out on the ship alone. sunnycreek stood and followed him out.

sedgewhisper also followed, she probably had to make dirt too.

sunnycreek stood guard while the cats made dirt and the two watched as the boat tipped slightly and a giant icy wave splashed over her and swept under her paws, carrying her over the side of the ship.

lightningpaw screamed while sedgewhisper went to save her, the two latched paws but sunnycreek eventually fell into the water, her body was not seen again.

sedgewhisper and lightingpaw raced back to the patrol. "stonestorm, we went out to make dirt and sunnycreek got swept over the side of the ship into the water. i can't find her!" she cried.

stonestorm jumped up and trotted out to where sunnycreek was taken. "starclan rest her soul, she sleeps with her warrior ancestors. she died a brave death."

they all went back and sedgewhisper cried into thymebriar's pelt. the patrol was shaken and distressed for the rest of the trip. lightningpaw thought about what it would be like to lose milkpaw forever and it hurt his heart. he missed milkpaw but he knew they would meet again.

the storm slowly died down as they entered the docks. lightningpaw touched noses with katrina and juniper upon seeing them again. the patrol waited for a ride on the fruit truck back with juniper, katrina had went to get ready to leave with stonestorm when they came back.

lightningpaw rode on the truck silently, the echoes of sunnycreek's scream in his head. they weren't very close but if you spend every second together for moons on end you start to get attached. it had been days since she had been killed and no one could stop thinking about it, especially sedgewhisper.

juniper had finally started to lead them, she tried to stay chipper and happy for them but she knew she had lost her sister. "so the territory was torn up and then fawnwhisper moved the clan to a barn. it's fine though, they're safe now." she purred.

the patrol opened the doors to the barn to see the clan cats. lightningpaw heard a scream and saw morningpaw race down from the upper level. "lightningpaw, you're back!" she mewed, nuzzling him. lightningpaw noticed she smelled of milk and the nursery. her body had revealed she had kits. "i had kits, three of them. you have to come see them!"

he followed her up and revealed three tiny bundles, they must've been born recently because their eyes weren't even open yet. "so, you must be a warrior now, morning _paw_?" lightningpaw laughed, he was happy to be with his sister again.

"it's morning _sun_ now!" she teased. "we'll have to talk to slatestar about your warrior name soon."

lightningpaw's whiskers twitched. "where are sandpaw, birdpaw, wrendawn, and skytail? i need to tell them what happened to milkpaw."

"did-did something bad happen?" morningsun asked, frowning.

more hoots and hollers sounded from down below as thymebriar found her family. "he's alright, he just couldn't be here."

slatestar was out now too. "the patrol is back! starclan bless their souls. we're saved!" he cheered.

lightningpaw sighed. "we exchanged him for some riverclan cats to help us on our journey, they aren't being a very good help right now," he motioned to cypressleaf and heatherheart standing awkwardly in the entrance to the barn. "riverclan was really nice, i can't wait for you to meet them."

one of morningsun's kits let out a tiny squeak. "let me introduce you all to your uncle lightningpaw," she mewed softly to them. "this silver one is rainkit, this brown one is sunkit, and this tortoiseshell one is oriolekit." lightningpaw sniffed at them before getting jumped on.

"my son is back!" dewyfox roared. "we missed you so much." he nuzzled lightningpaw.

"where's sunhare?" lightningpaw giggled.

things were quiet between the three cats. "she was taken by twolegs shortly after you left.. that's why moonclan joined sunclan and just created skyclan because moonclan had become a band of rogues. she never found her way back."

the golden tom-cat's heart broke. he would never see her again. "oh.." he sighed.

"all cats come down out of that nursery, we're setting up to leave!" slatestar shouted.

lightningpaw grabbed rainkit by his scruff and carried him down, dewyfox followed with sunkit, and morningsun last with oriolekit. the clan gathered around slatestar. "we're saved! we're going to the promised land!" one cat shouted, the clan cheered. slatestar tried to quiet them down.

"let's have the report from stonestorm on how the clans reacted." slatestar shushed everyone.

lightningpaw watched the broad shouldered tom climb up next to the leader. "thunderclan, windclan, and shadowclan were not as welcoming as riverclan. we will find riverclan territory once we all get there to the new territory. we have representatives from riverclan, for those who may not be so believing of us." stonestorm mewed.

heatherheart and cypressleaf climbed onto the hay pile with the toms. "riverclan welcomes you with open arms while you make the journey back to the original clans and until you find your own territory." the she-cat mewed while the clan cheered even more.

"we should assign everyone into groups or does everyone want to be in groups with their families?" stonestorm asked, he seemed unsure.

cats began to situate themselves into groups of their mates and whatnot. lightningpaw sat with morningsun and dewyfox and the kits while others formed groups around each other. "watch everyone in your group and count them all. if one goes missing, tell us." yewflight said loudly.

stonestorm lead the way with cypressleaf, heatherheart, and juniper following close behind him. slatestar stopped them. "hold on, we have one ceremony we want to perform here as our last ceremony. lightningpaw, please step forward."

his body felt shaky as he walked to his leader. "i, slatestar, leader of skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. he has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and i commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. lightningpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

lightningpaw grinned. "i do." he mewed.

"then by the powers of starclan, i give you your warrior name. lightningpaw, from this moment on you will be known as lightningstorm. starclan honors your bravery and compassion, and we welcome you as a full warrior of skyclan." slatestar rested his head on lightningstorm and the new warrior licked his shoulder gratefully. the clan cheered his new name as the cats traveled to the downtown where they would ride the boats.

_lightningstorm. it has a nice ring to it._

_ ; milkpaw _

riverclan was a bustling clan, all cats had a purpose and worked. it was similar to skyclan but the ground underfoot was wet and muddy, not the same as the moor he loved so much. honeystar was incredibly kind and it seemed that her cats loved her. some leaders ruled on fear and others on love. a few days some unknown clan cats walked into the camp. milkpaw stayed in the camp, he was a captive, not a riverclan warrior.

"honeystar, i assume that you have gotten rid of those skyclan cats permanently, right?" a silver she-cat mewed who lead a patrol. "we would like to educate you on why we cannot let them in our territories. there's simply no room." she shrugged.

honeystar frowned. "i couldn't let innocent cats die all because i couldn't give them a chance. just give them a chance?" she mewed.

the silver she-cat hissed. "is this one of them?" she pointed to milkpaw.

the leader jumped in front of her. "get away, cherryheart. i welcome visitors into my clan and help others the way i believe the warrior code should be followed. i welcomed your opinion into my clan but since you're threatening one of my guests i'm going to have to ask you to leave." her voice dropped to a low growl and other riverclan warriors crept closer to the patrol.

milkpaw expected a fight but cherryheart stared straight into honeystar's eyes fiercely, unblinking. "there are clans allied against you and will want war if you bring those rogues back," she snarled. "just a warning." she stalked away snootily.

"someone make sure they leave the territory." honeystar called to her warriors and one followed quickly.

the apprentice shivered. "i-i can leave somewhere for now.." he stuttered.

honeystar's eyes were soft. "don't worry, young milkpaw. everything will be okay." she purred.

he thought of his clanmates, his family and lightningpaw. _oh, lightningpaw, how i miss the scent of your fur.._ milkpaw swooned, settling back down with one eye open as he took a nap in the weak sunlight.

_i need you right now. i really do._


	17. Chapter 17

**allegiances xvi  
****_; skyclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : lilypaw  
**deputy :** yewflight - lithe light brown tom-cat  
**medicine cats :**  
russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tortoiseshell she-cat with short legs (daughter of wrendawn)  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
**warriors** :  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former rogue  
_apprentice_ : whitepaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
_apprentice_ : fishpaw  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : berrypaw  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : cloudpaw  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former rogue  
_apprentice_ : hazelpaw  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
_apprentice_ : emberpaw  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : pebblepaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : toadpaw  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sandthistle - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
_apprentice_ : nightpaw  
patchpetal - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
_apprentice_ : jaypaw  
lightningstorm - golden tom-cat (son of _sunhare_ )  
petalwhisper - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
cindernight - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
hareleap - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**apprentices** :  
lilypaw - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
cloudpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightpaw - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitepaw - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
berrypaw - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberpaw - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelpaw - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblepaw - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaypaw - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishpaw - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
morningsun - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ ) (expecting sparkwhisker's kits)  
**kits** :  
sunkit - sandy brown tom-cat (son of morningsun)  
rainkit - silver tom-cat (son of morningsun)  
oriolekit - tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of morningsun)

 _ **; thunderclan**_  
**leader** : squirrelstar - dark red tom-cat  
**deputy** : graycloud - gray tabby she-cat  
**medicine cat** : iceheart - white tom-cat

 _ **; windclan**_  
**leader** : smokestar - black tom-cat  
**deputy** : applepelt - long haired calico she-cat  
**medicine cat** : tawnyfoot - sandy she-cat

 _ **; riverclan**_  
**leader** : honeystar - tortoiseshell she-cat  
**deputy** : shelltail - white tom-cat with black patches  
**medicine cat** : cedarleaf - dark red tabby she-cat  
**visitor** : milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)

 _ **; shadowclan**_  
**leader** : jackdawstar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : cherryheart - silvery she-cat  
**medicine cat** : buzzardstripe - dark silver tom-cat

 _ **; traveling cats**_  
cypressleaf - long haired gray she-cat, riverclan cat  
heatherheart - stocky light brown tom-cat, riverclan cat

**chapter xvi**

_;_ _thymebriar_

the patrol traveled through the city with the help of juniper. they barely all got into the spot to sit in the monster and they had all reached katrina's home when it was getting dark out. the kittypet sat on the fence while everyone climbed into her den. she was clearly expecting kits, and how stonestorm greeted her thymebriar could only assume who the father was.

the kits only ever stayed close to sneezethorn, like they couldn't trust thymebriar. _you left while they were still weaning, of course they can't remember you._ she hadn't even realized she'd been gone so long until she put it in perspective of their lives. they were such new apprentices that she could still see the soft tufts of kit fur on them.

sneezethorn had been distant and quiet. she knew he was upset. for moons he had felt that his family had left him. his sister had been killed when they were returning, his brother had killed in battle and so had his father, his mother was taken by twolegs, and he was leaving behind his last sister. he couldn't even look at thymebriar because she had abandoned him too.

she missed being curled up with him in the den or curled up with him while she was nursing her kits. it was all gone now. she seemed unforgivable. _you mousebrain, look where your journey has gotten you._ she thought stubbornly.

thymebriar watched over the sleeping clan as snores were sounded from all around. seedbreeze was curled up with slatestar, her two newest kits cindernight and hareleap slept nearby. seedbreeze never had time for her eldest kits, everyone had their own lives now. sparkwhisker was expecting kits with violetberry. sparrowtalon was mates with petalwhisper. birchshade had done her duty to her clan and gave up her life for berrypaw and emberpaw.

a soft calling was heard through the doorway out onto the beach and a glowing figure stood. the sandy she-cat glanced around at the clan who was not in danger and followed the figure through the door and out onto the beach. "drink the water and lay down." the figure spoke.

thymebriar drank and felt the freezing salty water drip down her throat as she fell asleep.

cheers were heard all around her as she blinked open her eyes to reveal starclan standing around her.

"thymebriar, we're so proud of you!" birchshade mewed, nuzzling her sister. talonwhisker was there and so was sunnycreek. "you're going to be the greatest leader skyclan has ever seen." she purred.

she looked birchshade up and down. "leader?"

"warrior. i meant warrior." birchshade blushed while talonwhisker glared at her.

the father nuzzled his daughter. "i see the new territory now. i see peace and serenity, i see kits being brought up for generations and generations of safety." he purred. "don't doubt yourself. you're almost there."

he stepped back and sunnycreek stepped forward. "ignore sneezethorn, he may be like this for a day, a moon, or for the rest of his life. i grant your kits some compassion. you saved their lives and the lives of their kits for generations to come! soon they will see that."

the cats began to disappear around her and fade into nothingness while the sun began to rise. a single paw shook her awake and she opened her eyes to see stonestorm. "any messages from starclan?" he asked, excitement in his eyes.

"no, just reassurance that we're doing the right thing and going the right way." thymebriar purred to her friend. _i should keep the leader thing to myself and see how it plays out._ she thought.

stonestorm grinned. "good, then let's get going, shall we?"

_; milkpaw_

a moon had past since the cats left and milkpaw was invited to the gathering with riverclan. he walked with guards around him across the slimy log in the river. they were the first clan there, but others joined with them soon. the gathering started soon after and each leader gave a brief overview of the things that were happening in their clans, kits, apprenticeships, new warriors, and the like. milkpaw had never really seen a gathering before, sunclan stopped having them with moonclan while he was still small.

"now, the skyclan thing.." a dark red tom-cat said. "are they coming?"

"they should be, i have one of their own held captive." honeystar mewed. she called him visitor to his face but he knew he was just being held captive.

some cats grumbled in dismay and many shot dirty looks to him. "shadowclan will not be moving territory lines if they do decide to stay." a light gray cat snarled. "would any other clans like to ally?"

"thunderclan will." the dark red cat said again.

honeystar glanced to the last leader. "smokestar, what will windclan do? for or against?"

smokestar looked at her closely. "actually, there's a spot between windclan and riverclan territory they could stay in. the abandoned twolegplace. no one has been in it since my grandparents were kits." he mewed. "and we could probably give up a little bit of territory. everyone could. this is skyclan, remember? ancient firestar of thunderclan revived them moons ago, before that they were one of us."

the other two cats hissed and spat. "they will not join us around the lake. they can go somewhere else."

honeystar looked exasperated. "fine, you want a war? you'll get one. don't expect to walk into my camp anymore or you'll be attacked on sight. once skyclan gets here we'll have two clans against three clans. go for it." she snarled.

clouds drifted across the moon. "starclan is upset, windclan should leave." smokestar mewed, his clan drew themselves away. riverclan next and milkpaw received hisses and snarls as he left.

_starclan give me strength and safety, bring my clan to me before they rip my pelt off!_


	18. Chapter 18

**allegiances xvii  
****_; skyclan  
_****leader** : slatestar - dark gray tom-cat  
_apprentice_ : lilypaw  
**deputy :** yewflight - lithe light brown tom-cat  
**medicine cats :**  
russetfeather - light red she-cat (sister of flamebark)  
_apprentice_ : birdpaw - tortoiseshell she-cat with short legs (daughter of wrendawn)  
stonestorm - silver tabby tom-cat (son of _silverclouds_ )  
**warriors** :  
dewyfox - silvery tom-cat, former rogue  
_apprentice_ : whitepaw  
wrendawn - tortoiseshell she-cat  
_apprentice_ : fishpaw  
thistleberry - gray calico she-cat  
_apprentice_ : berrypaw  
flamebark - dark red tom-cat (brother of russetfeather)  
_apprentice_ : cloudpaw  
shrewclaw - black she-cat, former rogue  
_apprentice_ : hazelpaw  
sedgewhisper - dark gray she-cat  
sneezethorn -dark gray tom-cat (son of _specklebush_ )  
_apprentice_ : emberpaw  
sparrowtalon - black tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : pebblepaw  
sparkwhisker - dark gray tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
_apprentice_ : toadpaw  
thymebriar - sandy she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
sandthistle - sandy tom-cat (son of wrendawn)  
_apprentice_ : nightpaw  
patchpetal - white she-cat with black patches (daughter of _yarrowbird_ )  
_apprentice_ : jaypaw  
lightningstorm - golden tom-cat (son of _sunhare_ )  
petalwhisper - gray she-cat (daughter of _sedgewhisper_ )  
cindernight - dark gray she-cat (daughter of seedbreeze)  
hareleap - pale sandy tom-cat (son of seedbreeze)  
**apprentices** :  
lilypaw - gray calico she-cat (daughter of thistleberry)  
toadpaw - light brown tom-cat (son of thistleberry)  
cloudpaw - gray she-cat (daughter of shrewclaw)  
nightpaw - black tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
whitepaw - light gray tom-cat (son of shrewclaw)  
berrypaw - creamy she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
emberpaw - bright red she-cat (daughter of _birchshade_ )  
hazelpaw - sandy she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
pebblepaw - small gray tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
jaypaw - dark gray she-cat (daughter of _thymebriar_ )  
fishpaw - sand colored tom-cat (son of _thymebriar_ )  
**queens** :  
seedbreeze - pale sandy she-cat  
morningsun - silver she-cat (daughter of _sunhare_ )  
violetberry - red she-cat (daughter of _silverclouds_ ) (expecting sparkwhisker's kits)  
**kits** :  
sunkit - sandy brown tom-cat (son of morningsun)  
rainkit - silver tom-cat (son of morningsun)  
oriolekit - tortoiseshell she-cat (daughter of morningsun)

 _ **; thunderclan**_  
**leader** : squirrelstar - dark red tom-cat  
**deputy** : graycloud - gray tabby she-cat  
**medicine cat** : iceheart - white tom-cat

 _ **; windclan**_  
**leader** : smokestar - black tom-cat  
**deputy** : applepelt - long haired calico she-cat  
**medicine cat** : tawnyfoot - sandy she-cat

 _ **; riverclan**_  
**leader** : honeystar - tortoiseshell she-cat  
**deputy** : shelltail - white tom-cat with black patches  
**medicine cat** : cedarleaf - dark red tabby she-cat  
**visitor** : milkpaw - tortoiseshell tom-cat (son of wrendawn)

 _ **; shadowclan**_  
**leader** : jackdawstar - light gray tom-cat  
**deputy** : cherryheart - silvery she-cat  
**medicine cat** : buzzardstripe - dark silver tom-cat

 _ **; traveling cats**_  
cypressleaf - long haired gray she-cat, riverclan cat  
heatherheart - stocky light brown tom-cat, riverclan cat

**chapter xvii**

; _morningsun_

the clan had made it onto the ship easily and were quickly contained in a metallic container. she sat in the middle of the clan with her kits and so did violetberry and seedbreeze. the kittypet had followed them as well and although she was expecting kits she mostly sat with stonestorm. slatestar hadn't decided on whether or not she was to stay in the clan but she followed regardless. there's no way stonestorm can be a medicine cat anymore. they're clearly having kits together.

morningsun's kits were perfectly fine but she was worried that they would open their eyes to find that they were in a dangerous ship. violetberry's kits were due soon and some cats seemed to be getting greencough, which made her terribly worried because russetfeather said that if kits got greencough they would definitely die. some cats were already infected and had to be moved out to another area. there were no herbs to cure anyone.

shrewclaw had gotten ill first and spread it to sneezethorn who spread it to all four of his kits. hazelpaw spread it to whitepaw who spread it to lilypaw. lilypaw was broken that she couldn't see the kits anymore, but knew it was for their own safety.

one morning sunkit had trouble breathing and had mucus crusted around his nose. she easily recognized the sign of greencough and told russetfeather.

"hey russetfeather, i think sunkit has greencough, maybe lilypaw gave it to him?" morningsun mewed.

her eyes clouded. "morningsun, i'm so sorry. with food and herbs on the ship no where to be seen it's a death sentence." she mewed sadly.

the queen felt her heart fall into her stomach. "i'll get violetberry to nurse rainkit and oriolekit, i need to be with him while he goes. i don't want him to be afraid when he goes to starclan." she whimpered, close to tears.

russetfeather sighed. "you want to risk getting sick and leaving two kits without a mother?" morningsun frowned and let her words sink in. "alright, we'll see what violetberry says."

the two padded over to the queen. "violetberry could you nurse oriolekit and rainkit? i need to take care of sunkit.." she trailed off as she looked at him. he was so fragile looking and weak compared to the other two kits.

"yes, of course." she mewed, taking the kits against her teats.

morningsun cradled around sunkit while cats coughed and wheezed. some were crying. it was so scary for morningsun but she was kept in a different corner than them. days went on and sunkit fought until one day he couldn't. morningsun watched as his breaths became shorter and less easy. "sunkit, you can go to starclan. you can go and be there. it's okay." she cried as he took his final breath. this marked the first death from the disease.

shortly after sunkit was given an ocean burial, morningsun herself grew ill. she was fighting through it to help her other kits but it was hard.

russetfeather got sick too and the cats who were healthy could stay healthy. the conditions were worsening and everyday a cat died. first shrewclaw died, she had grown too weak from the illness. then pebblepaw died, he was surrounded by family while he went. slatestar had lost a life then as well. on the last day of the ride russetfeather died, she had barely made it to the end before going.

they all left the ship and crowded around in a kittypet house. morningsun got the catmint and was to full health immediately and back to her kits. they already had their eyes opened. "mom!" rainkit squealed, running to her. "violetberry said you were sick, are you okay now?" he asked.

"i'm going to be alright!" morningsun purred, nuzzling her two kits.

oriolekit was quiet. "i knew she wasn't you before i opened my eyes. you two smell very different."

the clan moved on through more twolegplaces and forests and valleys. morningsun watched the kits grow as they traveled. soon after a moon or so they were finally there. the territories. the two riverclan warriors lead the way around to where riverclan territory was. they were lead straight to the camp to where they were met with a tortoiseshell she-cat who seemed to be the leader.

morningsun watched as sandthistle and birdpaw greeted milkpaw. rainkit and oriolekit had no idea that sandthistle was their father and they would never know. honeystar spoke with slatestar in hushed voices before calling a meeting. "cats of skyclan, you have traveled through this brave journey and are now here, your new home. we have a territory set up for you in between us and windclan which you might enjoy. we will take you to it but first slatestar would like to perform a ceremony."

the leader morningsun recognized finally stood and the skyclan cats cheered. "i, slatestar, leader of skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. he has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and i commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." morningsun knew it was milkpaw's warrior ceremony already. she didn't hate milkpaw but had a hard time disguising her disgust for him. "milkpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"i do." milkpaw mewed. morningsun watched lightningstorm ogling him proudly. _are they mates?_

"then by the powers of starclan, i give you your warrior name. milkpaw, from this moment on you will be known as milkspots. starclan honors you and we welcome you as a full warrior of skyclan." slatestar purred.

"milkspots! milkspots! milkspots!" they all cheered.

the clans made their way to the twolegplace that would be their camp. when they arrived to the abandoned farm there were already cats there.

"honeystar i changed my mind. windclan takes twolegplace as our own territory now." a black tom-cat snarled, his clan gathering around him. morningsun felt her kits shuffling around her afraid. "if those rogues come here they will die."

morningsun took her kits and ran, the windclan cats began fighting the riverclan and skyclan cats. oriolekit sobbed in fear while she ran.

later that evening morningsun stayed in the nursery with the other queens and didn't let her kits play with the others because she was convinced that they would move into to the other camp soon. violetberry was there and so was petalwhisper. violetberry was bulging, overdue with her kits and could hardly move. petalwhisper was having sparrowtalon's kits in a few moons.

she listened as cats outside prepared a battle strategy.

; _thymebriar_

the cats nestled in the camp while apprentices and kits slept. they were planning a battle strategy to take over the camp. "i think an overnight ambush would be a great idea, cats are sleeping or tired and can't fight as well." he mewed.

"but what if that's what they want us to think?" sandthistle mewed with the frown.

some grumbles were heard from everyone meeting. "an overnight ambush is a great idea, especially since we outnumber them." honeystar mewed, thinking. "take some of the warriors, two patrols in case the first needs backup."

the leaders arranged the patrols, thymebriar was put in the first patrol with slatestar. they went out sneakily. some of the windclan cats were indeed there, along with other scents of cats thymebriar recognized from the gatherings. _did they bring cats from other clans here?_ she thought. it seemed to be a hoot, cats were talking and laughing.

slatestar yowled a signal to charge and they went, jumping over the fence and onto the unsuspecting warriors. there were way more than the first patrol and soon the second came to help. thymebriar knew how to fight but these cats were trying to claw her throat out. "stupid rogue!" the one she fought snarled. slatestar barreled into them and they were locked in a fight while thymebriar watched helplessly.

the leader had tried to be a father figure for them after talonwhisker died. slatestar was being beaten and thymebriar couldn't move to help him.

she watched as the warrior bit into his throat and he jostled around before twitching and laying still. _please, don't be his last life.._ she thought in her head. the dark gray tom-cat never got up again. honeystar had called a retreat and the clans held a vigil for him that night. seedbreeze was heartbroken and thymebriar didn't say a word. she felt responsible for his death and guilt washed over her, but she didn't want to tell anyone.

_stupid rogue. can't even save your own leader, can you?_


End file.
